腹外侧眶皮层在痛觉调制和针刺镇痛中的作用

Roles of Ventrolateral Orbital Cortex in Pain Modulation and Acupuncture Analgesia

腹外侧眶皮层(ventrolateral orbital cortex,VLO)是眶皮层的主要成分,它与导水管周围灰质(PAG)、丘脑和其它皮层之间有广泛的纤维联系。VLO不仅是一个痛觉感受中枢,而且也是一个痛觉调制中枢,通过激活PAG脑干下行抑制系统在脊髓和三叉水平抑制伤害性信息的输入。研究还证实,阿片、5-HT和GABA等神经递质及其受体参与VLO的抗伤害效应。此外,VLO在针刺镇痛中也发挥重要作用。本文就腹外侧眶皮层在痛觉调制和针刺镇痛中的作用进行综述。

The ventrolateral orbital cortex （VLO） is a major component of orbital cortex, which has extensive connections with periaqueductal gray （PAG） , thalamus and other cortical regions. Researches suggest that the VLO is involved not only in nociception, but also in pain modulation, through activation of PAG brainstem descending antinociceptive pathway to inhibit the nociceptive inputs at the spinal/trigeminal level. Furthermore, many results demonstrate that opioid, 5-HT, GABA and their receptors are involved in the VLO antinociception. VLO plays an important role in acupuncture analgesia. In this review we summarized the roles of ventrolateral orbital lortex in pain modulation and acupunctare antinociception.