Neuroinflammation and Central Sensitization in Chronic and Widespread Pain
Four pages on PainSci cite Ji 2018: 1. 38 Surprising Causes of Pain 2. Chronic, Subtle, Systemic Inflammation 3. Infection aches versus normal chronic pain 4. What if chronic pain is a feature, not a bug?
PainSci notes on Ji 2018:
original abstract †Abstracts here may not perfectly match originals, for a variety of technical and practical reasons. Some abstacts are truncated for my purposes here, if they are particularly long-winded and unhelpful. I occasionally add clarifying notes. And I make some minor corrections.
Chronic pain is maintained in part by central sensitization, a phenomenon of synaptic plasticity, and increased neuronal responsiveness in central pain pathways after painful insults. Accumulating evidence suggests that central sensitization is also driven by neuroinflammation in the peripheral and central nervous system. A characteristic feature of neuroinflammation is the activation of glial cells, such as microglia and astrocytes, in the spinal cord and brain, leading to the release of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines. Recent studies suggest that central cytokines and chemokines are powerful neuromodulators and play a sufficient role in inducing hyperalgesia and allodynia after central nervous system administration. Sustained increase of cytokines and chemokines in the central nervous system also promotes chronic widespread pain that affects multiple body sites. Thus, neuroinflammation drives widespread chronic pain via central sensitization. We also discuss sex-dependent glial/immune signaling in chronic pain and new therapeutic approaches that control neuroinflammation for the resolution of chronic pain.
related content
- “An evolutionary stress-response hypothesis for chronic widespread pain (fibromyalgia syndrome),” Lyon et al, Pain Med, 2011.
- “Brain glial activation in fibromyalgia - A multi-site positron emission tomography investigation,” Albrecht et al, Brain Behav Immun, 2019.
- “Evolution, Stress and Fibromyalgia,” John Quintner, FMperplex.com.
Specifically regarding Ji 2018:
- “Fibromyalgia and Neuroinflammation: Shall the Twain Ever Meet?,” John Quintner, FMperplex.com.
This page is part of the PainScience BIBLIOGRAPHY, which contains plain language summaries of thousands of scientific papers & others sources. It’s like a highly specialized blog. A few highlights:
- The Problematic Nature of Fibromyalgia Diagnosis in the Community. Srinivasan 2019 ACR Open Rheumatol.
- Fibromyalgia diagnosis and biased assessment: Sex, prevalence and bias. Wolfe 2018 PLoS One.
- Restoring trust in menopause management: menopause hormone therapy is not a panacea, and physical activity remains a critical intervention. Tulloh 2025 Br J Sports Med.
- Common interventional procedures for chronic non-cancer spine pain: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised trials. Wang 2025 BMJ.
- Gabapentinoids and Risk of Hip Fracture. Leung 2024 JAMA Netw Open.