Elsevier

The Journal of Pain

Volume 14, Issue 11, November 2013, Pages 1255-1269
The Journal of Pain

Critical Review
An Overview of Animal Models of Pain: Disease Models and Outcome Measures

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2013.06.008Get rights and content
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Abstract

Pain is ultimately a perceptual phenomenon. It is built from information gathered by specialized pain receptors in tissue, modified by spinal and supraspinal mechanisms, and integrated into a discrete sensory experience with an emotional valence in the brain. Because of this, studying intact animals allows the multidimensional nature of pain to be examined. A number of animal models have been developed, reflecting observations that pain phenotypes are mediated by distinct mechanisms. Animal models of pain are designed to mimic distinct clinical diseases to better evaluate underlying mechanisms and potential treatments. Outcome measures are designed to measure multiple parts of the pain experience, including reflexive hyperalgesia measures, sensory and affective dimensions of pain, and impact of pain on function and quality of life. In this review, we discuss the common methods used for inducing each of the pain phenotypes related to clinical pain syndromes as well as the main behavioral tests for assessing pain in each model.

Perspective

Understanding animal models and outcome measures in animals will assist in translating data from basic science to the clinic.

Key words

Pain
animal model
inflammation
neuropathic
cancer
incision
behavior
reflex
affective
muscle
joint
place preference
escape-avoidance

Cited by (0)

Supported by National Institutes of Health grants AR061371, AR052315, AR053509, AR063381, NS046606, and CA124787.

The authors have no conflict of interests to disclose in relation to the article.