Social transfer of alcohol withdrawal induced hyperalgesia

Chronic pain often manifests in the absence of tissue damage, and is greatly impacted by social and environmental factors. Because chronic pain and alcohol dependence are interrelated, we examined pain during withdrawal from voluntary alcohol drinking in male C57BL/6J mice. Our findings reveal hyperalgesia not only in “primary” alcohol-withdrawn mice, but also in water-drinking “bystander” control mice housed in the same room. This phenomenon generalizes to other pain states, as evidenced by the social transfer of morphine withdrawal-induced and inflammatory hyperalgesia.

Source: Alcohol - May 1, 2017 Category: Addiction Authors: Monique L. Smith, Andre Walcott, Caroline Hostetler, Andrey E. Ryabinin, Mary M. Heinricher Source Type: research