Neuropathic Pain in the Wake of Nervous System Injuries

Nervous system injuries span a wide clinical and biological spectrum, from traumatic brain injury and stroke to spinal cord injury and peripheral nerve damage, yet they share a common and frequently devastating sequela: chronic neuropathic pain. Damage at any level of the somatosensory axis can disrupt normal signaling, impair descending inhibitory control, and drive central sensitization in ways that persist long after the initial injury has resolved. Central post-stroke pain, at-level and below-level pain after spinal cord injury, and post-traumatic neuralgia following peripheral nerve damage each represent distinct clinical entities, but they are united by overlapping mechanisms and a shared deficit in effective treatment. Despite substantial research output across these areas in recent years, the field remains fragmented: findings generated in spinal cord injury models rarely inform clinical trials in stroke populations, and peripheral nerve injury research infrequently cross-pollinates with brain injury science.This Research Topic seeks to bridge that gap. We invite contributions that examine how injury location, severity, and lesion characteristics shape neuropathic pain phenotypes across the full neuroaxis, and how injury-induced neuroplasticity, neuroinflammation, and glial activation contribute to pain chronification. Particularly welcome are studies investigating thalamic and cortical reorganization after central injury, dorsal horn sensitization and ectopic discharge following peripheral nerve damage, and the role of neuroimmune interactions in sustaining pain states after both central and peripheral insults. Research addressing biomarkers, neuroimaging signatures, and patient phenotyping that could support more individualized treatment selection is also a priority. The collection aims to generate a cross-cutting synthesis of mechanisms and targets that is difficult to achieve within injury-specific silos.We welcome Original Research, Review, Mini-Review, Systematic Review, Meta-analysis, Perspective, Opinion, and Case Report manuscripts. Key thematic areas include central sensitization and maladaptive plasticity after nervous system injury; neuroinflammatory and glial mechanisms across injury types; central post-stroke pain and thalamic pain syndromes; at-level and below-level pain following spinal cord injury; peripheral sensitization, ectopic discharge, and axonal signaling after nerve injury; post-traumatic headache and diffuse pain hypersensitivity after TBI; disruption of endogenous pain modulation; neuroimaging and biomarker-based pain assessment; pharmacological approaches including gabapentinoids, sodium channel modulators, and neuromodulation techniques such as repetitive TMS; and quality of life, psychosocial burden, and outcomes in vulnerable populations including pediatric patients. All submissions should align with the Neuropathic Pain section of Frontiers in Pain Research.Topic Editor Dr. Christopher Cardozo declares that he holds a patent related to the subject of this Research Topic. All other Topic Editors declare no competing interests with regards to the Research Topic subject Topic editors: Mark Zimering, Christopher P Cardozo, Jeffrey Zimering Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/82926/neuropathic-pain-in-the-wake-of-nervous-system-injuries