Ipek Yalçın Christmann, Network of European Neuroscience Institutes (ENI-NET), Strasbourg | Pain and Mood disorders Comorbidity: Insight from the anterior cingulate cortex

Abstract

Besides chronic stress, chronic pain is a prevalent determinant for depression. Changes induced in specific brain regions by sustained pain may alter the processing of affective information, thus resulting in anxiodepressive disorders. Our results show that, at cortical level, the sensory component of chronic pain remains functionally segregated from its affective and anxiodepressive components. Indeed, the presence of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is necessary for the anxiodepressive consequences of chronic pain, while the posterior insular cortex is important only for the somatosensory component. Furthermore, optogenetic stimulation of the ACC is sufficient to induce anxiety and depressive-like behaviors in naive animals. The ACC thus appears as a critical hub for mood disorders, including for the anxiodepressive consequences of chronic pain, and could constitute an important target for divulging the underlying mechanism. Dr. Yalcin will present their recent molecular, morphological, optogenetic and behavioral evidences concerning the critical role of the ACC in the anxiodepressive consequences of chronic pain.