The new research, by the Hebei Medical University in China and the University of Leeds in the UK, has found that, in the peripheral nervous system, Substance P makes nerve cells less responsive and excitable, thereby reducing sensations of pain. (sciencedaily.com)
Combining morphine, a narcotic pain reliever, and nortriptyline, an antidepressant, has been found to successfully relieve chronic neuropathic pain — or a localized sensation of pain due to abnormal function of the nervous system — in 87 per cent of patients, and significantly better than with either drug alone. (sciencedaily.com)
Specific brain areas, most notably the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and anterior insula, activated during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) both when subjects experienced pain and when another person present experienced pain, whereas other areas activated only during the direct sensation of pain [3]. (journals.plos.org)