It is generally acknowledged that humans display highly variable sensitivity to pain,
including variable responses to identical injuries or pathologies. The possible contribution of
genetic factors has, however, been largely overlooked. An emerging rodent literature
documents the importance of genotype in mediating basal nociceptive sensitivity, in
establishing a predisposition to neuropathic pain following neural injury, and in determining
sensitivity to pharmacological agents and endogenous antinociception. One clear finding …