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Neurophysiology of Pain

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Mental Health and Pain

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Abstract

Psychiatry and pain are both complex phenomena that required a functional approach taking into account physiological, psychological and contextual domains. It is then not surprising that mental health and pain problems may have common sources. However, they can also be independents health problems that are interacting. The scientific literature is rich of example of comorbidity between mental health and pain problems. Moreover, the interaction is bidirectional. For instance, depression will increase the risk of developing chronic pain problems and vice versa. Some mental health problems such as schizophrenia or autism spectrum disorders have been linked to hypoalgesia while other mental disorders, such as anxiety or depression, are more related to hypoalgesia. As it will be developed in the other chapters, this linear relation between specific mental health problems and hypo- or hyperalgesia is too simplistic and not always true. In this chapter, we will introduce the neurophysiological basis of pain with an emphasis on endogenous excitatory and inhibitory mechanisms that share common basis in mental health and pain. We will discuss the mechanisms implicated in the development, persistency and treatment of pain. The main goal is to introduce the mechanisms of pain in functional terms so that the clinician can appropriate the link between pain and mental health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery – Service of Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine, Centre de Recherche Clinique Étienne-Le Bel, CHUS, Université de Sherbrooke, 3001, 12e Avenue Nord, Sherbrooke, QC, J1H 5N4, Canada

    Serge Marchand

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  1. Serge Marchand
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Correspondence to Serge Marchand .

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  1. Centre de Recherche Clinique Etienne Le Bel, Sherbrooke, Canada

    Serge Marchand

  2. EPS Barthélémy Durand, Etampes, France

    Djéa Saravane

  3. Faculté de médecine et CRCELB, Sherbrooke, Canada

    Isabelle Gaumond

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Marchand, S. (2014). Neurophysiology of Pain. In: Marchand, S., Saravane, D., Gaumond, I. (eds) Mental Health and Pain. Springer, Paris. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-2-8178-0414-9_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-2-8178-0414-9_3

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