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Depressive Disorders And Pain: A Joint Model Of Diagnosis And Treatment

Riccardo G.V. Torta and  Valentina Ieraci  

Pain is a complex construct that is linked to neurobiological factors, mostly related to sensory pain dimensions and evaluated by somatosensory cortical and thalamic areas. But a painful stimulus is also modulated by emotional and cognitive factors, related to the emotional limbic processing of pain and to cortico-frontal evaluation and belief about pain. In this article, the authors discuss how and why pain and depression are frequently associated in clinical practice, the biological mechanisms shared by both disturbances and how this common background can explain the high comorbid incidence of depressive disorders and pain, and the rationale for treatment strategies acting on both depressive disorders and pain.