Fig. 5 |. Recommendations for increased translational relevance of animal pain models.

Before a preclinical pain experiment is begun, significant consideration should be given to the model organism, pain assay, holding and testing environments, and number and type of behavioural measures. Increased variability in model organism species, genetic background, age, sex and life history may increase the translatability of preclinical findings. To determine the generalizability of a new pain target or mechanism, experimenters should use multiple clinically relevant assays within a given study instead of a single, artificial injury. Specific care should be taken to minimize environmental stress before and during pain behaviour testing; appropriate habituation times are absolutely necessary to mitigate the effects of stress-induced analgesia or hyperalgesia on behavioural responses. Lastly, the number, type, and resolution of measures should be increased to allow more nuanced interpretations of pain behaviours during both the acute phase and the chronic phase of the injury.