Modern Concepts of Pain and Hyperalgesia: Beyond the Polymodal C-Nociceptor

Increased pain Sensitivity was traditionally attributed to sensitization of primary nociceptive afferents. The discovery that low-threshold mechanoreceptor input can be painful under pathophysiological conditions underlines the importance of plasticity of spinal sensory neurons. Thus both peripheral and central sensitization are involved to varying degrees in different types of hyperalgesia.