Early-life adversity mediates a thalamo-amgydalar circuit dysfunction underlying chronic pain and anxiety

Abstract

Childhood adversity increases the risk of developing a vicious cycle of chronic pain and comorbid anxious avoidance, yet the underlying biological mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we investigated the role of a brain circuit from the paraventricular thalamus (PVT) to the central amygdala (CeA) in mediating hyperalgesia and comorbid anxiety following early life stress. Using a vulnerability-stress model, we exposed both male and female mice to early social isolation (vulnerability) followed by nerve injury (stress) and showed increased hyperalgesia and anxious avoidance behavior in nerve-injured female mice following early adversity. Chemogenetic, electrophysiological, and optophysiological analyses revealed a causal contribution of a hyperexcitable PVT-CeA circuit dysfunction to chronic hyperalgesia and anxiety in nerve-injured female mice after early life stress. Our findings reveal a neural mechanism linking childhood adversity to chronic pain and anxiety, and suggest that reprogramming this pathway may reverse the impact of childhood adversity.