Archive · 2 Sep 2026
Researchers Identify Brain Circuit Behind Chemotherapy-Induced Cold Pain
Some chemotherapy patients can feel pain from temperatures that are normally just cold.
This problem is called cold allodynia.
It can happen after treatment with oxaliplatin, a chemotherapy drug.
Researchers from two Indian institutes studied how this pain happens.
They found a brain circuit connected with cold-related sensations in mice.
The circuit may help explain both the feeling of pain and the emotional distress caused by cold.
The study was published in the journal Cell Reports.
More research is needed to understand what the findings mean for people.
Researchers from the Indian Institute of Science and TCG-CREST identified a brain circuit linked to chemotherapy-related cold allodynia.
Cold allodynia causes ordinary cold temperatures to produce pain or distress.
The condition is a side effect of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy.
Oxaliplatin, a platinum-containing chemotherapy drug, is known to cause cold allodynia.
The findings were published in Cell Reports after experiments involving mice.
- Who
- Researchers from the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru and TCG-CREST in Kolkata.
- What
- They identified a brain circuit involved in sensory and affective-motivational responses to chemotherapy-induced cold allodynia.
- When
- The publication date is not specified in the article.
- Where
- The research was conducted by institutions in Bengaluru and Kolkata and involved mice.
- Why
- To investigate the brain mechanisms behind cold allodynia, a chemotherapy-related side effect.
- Condition
- Cold allodynia
- Main symptom
- Pain or distress from ordinary cold temperatures
- Associated condition
- Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy
- Drug mentioned
- Oxaliplatin, a platinum-containing chemotherapy drug
- Researchers
- Indian Institute of Science and TCG-CREST
- Study subjects
- Mice
- Journal
- Cell Reports
- Research paper
- “Parabrachial inputs to the parafascicular thalamus drive sensory and affective-motivational responses to cold-allodynia in mice”