Neurobiologie von Schmerz und Stress

In recent years the understanding of pain and in particular chronic pain has changed. It has been shown that there is a close link between the pain and stress processing systems. The latter is genetically determined but is, however, influenced by environmental conditions which also determine the linkage behavior. In the present article these connections will be presented in detail and the consequences for the diagnosis, differential diagnosis and therapy of chronic pain syndrome will be explained.