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A rat is not a monkey is not a human: comment on Mogil (Nature Rev. Neurosci. 10, 283–294 (2009))

Nature Reviews Neuroscience volume 10, page 466 (2009)Cite this article

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The March issue of Nature Reviews Neuroscience contains an article by Jeff Mogil (Animal models of pain: progress and challenges. Nature Rev. Neurosci. 10, 283–294 (2009))1 on the progress and challenges in animal models of pain. One major reason why pain models in rodents have had little translational success that needs to be added to those mentioned in the article is that — in addition to the numerous genetic and neurochemical differences between rodents and humans, even in the spinal dorsal horn — rats and mice simply do not have the neuroanatomical pathway to the forebrain that is crucial for pain sensation in humans. A recent article promoting human pain studies2 also does not mention this important difference between rodents and humans.

To be specific, the lamina I spinothalamocortical pathway to the dorsal posterior insula by way of the posterior part of the ventromedial nucleus (VMpo) is crucial for pain in humans3,4. A lesion of the ascending lamina I fibres in the middle of the lateral funiculus, a lesion of the VMpo or a lesion of dorsal posterior insula (dpIns) can cause the complete and permanent loss of pain and temperature sensation in a contralateral region of the body5,6,7,8. Conversely, microstimulation in either the VMpo or the dpIns in awake humans can cause a well-localized report of either sensation9,10. The existence of this pathway has generated debate (for example, see Refs 11, 12, 13,14), but there is no comparable evidence in rodents — rodents do not have either of these forebrain structures.

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  1. A. D. (Bud) Craig is at Barrow Neurological Institute, 350 West Thomas Road, Phoenix, Arizona 85013, USA. Bud.Craig@CHW.edu,

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Craig, A. A rat is not a monkey is not a human: comment on Mogil (Nature Rev. Neurosci. 10, 283–294 (2009)). Nat Rev Neurosci 10, 466 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2606-c1

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