Pivotal Historical Events in Pain Research and Management

Looking ahead in research, no matter the subject, we realize that where we are is on a trail leading into the dimly lit future. Looking over our shoulder we see the past now clearly marked by signposts put there by our predecessors. Now with clarity of hindsight, the direction provided by these markers seems self-evident. There is a certain pleasure in seeing how these signposts were planted. As with most obvious outcomes, the trajectory was neither smooth nor uninterrupted. Further, while the signposts seem to mark unique events and perspectives, to varying degrees, they are representative of thinking that often arose through the fertile ground of the environment in which we find ourselves. The advance in our understanding of pain and its mechanism and the evolution of therapeutic interventions most certainly follows that paradigm with multiple actors playing a role on the scientific stage. Frontiers in Pain Research has initiated a topical series that reflects upon such a perspective, soliciting perspectives and insights from the researchers and clinicians in the evolution of key concepts and contributions related to pain mechanisms, therapeutics and management. The theme relates not to the role of a single individual, but in the span of events and contributors leading to that signpost which we all see as pivotal. Topics range from the development of concepts of neuraxial sensitization to the evolution of the opiate receptor and the mechanisms of analgesia, to the orthogonality of the pain construct and advances in the care of the cancer patient with the hospice movement.