Scientists have discovered that a specific neural circuit in the brain plays a key role in determining whether short-term pain becomes chronic. If the activity of this circuit is suppressed, chronic pain either does not develop at all or can even disappear after it has already formed.

These conclusions were reached by a team of researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder, whose work was published in the journal Journal of Neuroscience.

The focus of the study was a brain region involved in processing bodily sensations and emotions — the caudal granular insular cortex. Experiments in animals showed that this area acts as a kind of “switch” that determines whether a pain signal remains temporary or becomes long-lasting. When this neural pathway is active, it sends signals to the spinal cord, sustaining pain responses even after damaged tissues have already healed.

The researchers used targeted techniques to suppress neuronal activity and found that when this pathway was turned off, chronic pain in the test animals either failed to develop altogether or quickly weakened, even if it had previously been well established. This indicates that in many cases, chronic pain is maintained not by ongoing tissue damage but by the active functioning of specific brain circuits.

The authors emphasize that these findings offer a new perspective on the nature of chronic pain. Rather than being merely a consequence of injury or inflammation, chronic pain appears to result from the brain “learning” pain and continuing to reproduce pain signals. This is particularly important because current treatments are often ineffective or associated with serious side effects, including the risk of dependence.

Although the study has so far been conducted only in animals, scientists believe that in the future these results could lead to the development of new, more precise therapeutic approaches. These would target specific neural circuits responsible for sustaining pain rather than the entire nervous system, potentially making chronic pain treatment safer and more effective.