Is chronic neuropathic pain relieved by functional improvement of sleep center which is considered a biological clock?

Chronic neuropathic pain significantly interferes with sleep, and inadequate sleep may contribute to the negative consequences in the treatment of pain. In this study, we showed that the neuropathic pain accelerates the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN)-serotonergic and the locus coeruleus (LC)-noradrenergic neurons. These activations in DRN and LC neurons may be, at least in part, responsible for sleep disorders under a neuropathic pain-like state. Amitriptyline, a tricyclic antidepressant, and suvorexant, a dual orexin receptor antagonist, could improve the secondary sleep disturbance induced by chronic neuropathic pain.