Hill R G
Neuroscience Research Centre, Merck, Sharp and Dohme Research Laboratories, Harlow Essex, UK.
Neuroscientist. 2001 Aug;7(4):282-92. doi: 10.1177/107385840100700405.
It is perhaps presumptuous to talk about the molecular basis of a subjective sensation such as pain, but defined conformational changes in membrane proteins, controlled by a family of extra- and intracellular messenger molecules, are known to underlie the activation of sensory nerve terminals and the process of synaptic neurotransmission, which are necessary for pain perception. Furthermore, a subset of neurotransmission processes has a permissive, and possibly exclusive, role in pain perception. Clearly, the experience of pain in the clinical sense with all its affective components of unpleasantness and suffering cannot yet be fully understood in molecular terms, but the process of nociception, whereby the signal generated as a result of tissue damaging or potentially damaging peripheral stimuli reaches and evokes neuronal activity in the central nervous system, is becoming better characterized. Recent advances in neurobiology have given us insights that are already helping improve understanding of the events that lead to a patient experiencing pain and, it is hoped, will also lead to more successful treatment strategies.
谈论诸如疼痛这种主观感觉的分子基础或许有些冒昧，但已知由一系列细胞外和细胞内信使分子控制的膜蛋白特定构象变化，是感觉神经末梢激活和突触神经传递过程的基础，而这些过程对于疼痛感知是必需的。此外，神经传递过程的一个子集在疼痛感知中具有许可性且可能是排他性的作用。显然，临床上带有所有不愉快和痛苦情感成分的疼痛体验，目前还无法完全从分子层面理解，但伤害感受过程，即由组织损伤或潜在损伤性外周刺激产生的信号到达并引发中枢神经系统神经元活动的过程，正得到更好的描述。神经生物学的最新进展为我们提供了一些见解，这些见解已经有助于增进对导致患者经历疼痛的事件的理解，并且有望还能带来更成功的治疗策略。
