Figure 3.

Possible relationships of signaling cascades mediating thermal allodynia and hyperalgesia. The development of thermal allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia is regulated by distinct receptors and may involve completely separate signaling pathways with minimal to no overlap. By contrast, these signals could converge downstream of receptor activation, allowing a single component to regulate multiple aspects of nociceptive sensitization. This convergence may take place at the level of cytoplasmic kinases, nuclear transcription factors, or other intracellular mediators, or the ion channels that are the likely endpoints of each signaling pathway.