A Model of Wind-up based on Short-term and Long-term Synaptic Plasticity Mechanisms

Wind-up has received great attention in recent years due to the fact that rational treatment of chronic pain depends on understanding the physiological mechanisms underlying the various characteristics of chronic pain. Several different models have been proposed for wind-up, none of which has an accurate physiological basis. We present a model that explains several aspects of wind-up by means of exploiting both short-term and long-term synaptic plasticity mechanisms. We believe that applying this idea to transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation may provide us with better solutions in pain relief.