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Handbook of Pediatric Chronic Pain pp 15–25Cite as

The Neurobiology of Chronic Pain in Children

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Abstract

Chronic pain arises from plastic changes in the peripheral and central nervous system. These changes are triggered and may be maintained by an insult to tissues, organs or to the nervous system itself. Because neural connections within the sensory and nociceptive systems have been altered, pain can take on a ‘life of its own’ and no longer require the presence of tissue damage. As a result, chronic pain will often persist beyond the resolution of the original injury. Thus, chronic pain has a clear biological origin, but that origin lies within the nervous system itself and if we are to prevent or treat it effectively, we need to understand these neural changes. The poor pain recovery following the resolution of a physical insult can lead to the conclusion that patients, especially children, are catastrophizing or have aberrant health beliefs, while in fact defined neurobiological changes in neural pain pathways are the source of the problem.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London, London, UK

    Maria Fitzgerald

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  1. Maria Fitzgerald
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Correspondence to Maria Fitzgerald .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine, Dept. Pathology & Pediatrics, Yale University, Cedar St. 333, New Haven, 06520, Connecticut, USA

    Brenda C. McClain

  2. Dept. Anesthesiology, Children's Memorial Hospital, Children's Plaza 2300, Chicago, 60614, Illinois, USA

    Santhanam Suresh

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Fitzgerald, M. (2011). The Neurobiology of Chronic Pain in Children. In: McClain, B., Suresh, S. (eds) Handbook of Pediatric Chronic Pain. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0350-1_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0350-1_2

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