Editorial
Meet PAIN Pictured Rohini Kuner A picture can say more than a thousand words! We are delighted to introduce a new brief report format for PAIN®, which consists of a high-quality figure that depicts novel findings, mechanisms, or concepts of relevance to readers of PAIN® and a 1-page article describing the figure. Indeed, this format, aptly named PAIN Pictured, is meant to visualize an important process or a concept in pain or pain chronicity in a simplified form that can be easily understood by the broad readership of PAIN®. Graphics and images published under PAIN Pictured serve as an easily accessible pictorial overview, which can be downloaded and used in scientific and educational presentations and thereby potentially serve “multiplicator” roles in communication and didactic functions. Our vision is to develop a PAIN Pictured series that features different levels of information processing in pain, spanning the breadth from molecular signaling to cellular mechanisms, circuit function to complex networks, and all the way up to social and environmental interactions. The inaugural contribution in the PAIN Pictured series depicted on the cover page and in this issue provides a molecular perspective of cancer pain. Shown are key known molecules and their receptors and signaling pathways driving reciprocal interactions between peripheral sensory nerves and cells of tumor and immune origin that are functionally relevant in inducing and maintaining cancer pain. As further examples of molecular mechanisms that can be featured in PAIN Pictured, we envisage portraying the functional diversity of important channels, such as sodium channels, molecules involved in neuron–glia signaling, synaptic mediators of nociceptive potentiation, among others.
The next issue of PAIN® will feature a PAIN Pictured article, authored by S. Lechner, and will provide a cellular and circuit perspective of mechanosensation and sensitization mechanisms in spinal pathways leading up to mechanical allodynia, a highly clinically relevant manifestation of pathological pain. In a similar vein, we look forward to feature in future issues specific cellular players, eg, C-low threshold mechanoceptors or a subpopulation of nociceptors specifically linked to itch, as well as key circuits, eg, spinal inhibitory circuits modulating pain or brainstem circuits mediating descending facilitation of pain, among others. Pain is a network process and, indeed, the recent progress in understanding networks mediating and modulating pain has set the stage for some key contributions that we expect to publish over the next issues, such as picturing brain networks underlying placebo analgesia or visceral pain, or anticipation of pain, among others. Of note, we are particularly interested in portraying the social/ environmental context of pain that could provide important information on how psychological factors interact with social/ environmental factors to influence pain and modulate molecules, circuits, and networks involved in pain. Thus, by comprehensively covering the latest insights on relevant topics across disciplines in pain, PAIN Pictured will visually complement the current contents of PAIN®, and we are confident that it will serve as a valuable resource for the pain community. Submissions will be processed upon editorial invitation only. Authors should contact me at rohini.kuner@pharma. uni-heidelberg.de.
The author declares no conflict of interest. Department of Pharmacology, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany E-mail address: [email protected] (R. Kuner). PAIN 156 (2015) 3 © 2014 International Association for the Study of Pain http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pain.0000000000000024
January 2015
·
Volume 156
·
Number 1
www.painjournalonline.com
3
Copyright Ó 2014 by the International Association for the Study of Pain. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
Meet PAIN Pictured Rohini Kuner A picture can say more than a thousand words! We are delighted to introduce a new brief report format for PAIN®, which consists of a high-quality figure that depicts novel findings, mechanisms, or concepts of relevance to readers of PAIN® and a 1-page article describing the figure. Indeed, this format, aptly named PAIN Pictured, is meant to visualize an important process or a concept in pain or pain chronicity in a simplified form that can be easily understood by the broad readership of PAIN®. Graphics and images published under PAIN Pictured serve as an easily accessible pictorial overview, which can be downloaded and used in scientific and educational presentations and thereby potentially serve “multiplicator” roles in communication and didactic functions. Our vision is to develop a PAIN Pictured series that features different levels of information processing in pain, spanning the breadth from molecular signaling to cellular mechanisms, circuit function to complex networks, and all the way up to social and environmental interactions. The inaugural contribution in the PAIN Pictured series depicted on the cover page and in this issue provides a molecular perspective of cancer pain. Shown are key known molecules and their receptors and signaling pathways driving reciprocal interactions between peripheral sensory nerves and cells of tumor and immune origin that are functionally relevant in inducing and maintaining cancer pain. As further examples of molecular mechanisms that can be featured in PAIN Pictured, we envisage portraying the functional diversity of important channels, such as sodium channels, molecules involved in neuron–glia signaling, synaptic mediators of nociceptive potentiation, among others.
The next issue of PAIN® will feature a PAIN Pictured article, authored by S. Lechner, and will provide a cellular and circuit perspective of mechanosensation and sensitization mechanisms in spinal pathways leading up to mechanical allodynia, a highly clinically relevant manifestation of pathological pain. In a similar vein, we look forward to feature in future issues specific cellular players, eg, C-low threshold mechanoceptors or a subpopulation of nociceptors specifically linked to itch, as well as key circuits, eg, spinal inhibitory circuits modulating pain or brainstem circuits mediating descending facilitation of pain, among others. Pain is a network process and, indeed, the recent progress in understanding networks mediating and modulating pain has set the stage for some key contributions that we expect to publish over the next issues, such as picturing brain networks underlying placebo analgesia or visceral pain, or anticipation of pain, among others. Of note, we are particularly interested in portraying the social/ environmental context of pain that could provide important information on how psychological factors interact with social/ environmental factors to influence pain and modulate molecules, circuits, and networks involved in pain. Thus, by comprehensively covering the latest insights on relevant topics across disciplines in pain, PAIN Pictured will visually complement the current contents of PAIN®, and we are confident that it will serve as a valuable resource for the pain community. Submissions will be processed upon editorial invitation only. Authors should contact me at rohini.kuner@pharma. uni-heidelberg.de.
The author declares no conflict of interest. Department of Pharmacology, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany E-mail address: [email protected] (R. Kuner). PAIN 156 (2015) 3 © 2014 International Association for the Study of Pain http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pain.0000000000000024
January 2015
·
Volume 156
·
Number 1
www.painjournalonline.com
3
Copyright Ó 2014 by the International Association for the Study of Pain. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
