The anxiodepressive comorbidity in chronic pain

The epidemiological studies report a high prevalence of mood disorders in patients with chronic pain, and these consequences of pain can be preclinically modeled. This comorbidity may be explained by shared morphological and functional alterations observed in both chronic pain and mood disorders. However, mechanistic studies also highlight differences in such alterations depending on the type of chronic pain. Better understanding of the genetic and environmental determinants of pain-induced mood disorders and of the various neurobiological bases of this comorbidity depending on the pain subtype could provide the clinician with important diagnosis and treatment tools. Such progress benefits from translational effort between clinical and preclinical research.