Fig. 7.
Putative model of the underlying mechanisms by which estrogen receptors in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex mediate the emotional component of pain. Estrogen in the anterior cingulate cortex drives the emotional component of pain via the estrogen receptor-β (ERβ)/protein kinase A (PKA) and G protein–coupled estrogen receptor-1 (GPER)/protein kinase B (AKT) pathways to facilitate NMDA receptor–mediated synaptic transmission and plasticity (see Discussion for details). CREB, cAMP-response element binding protein; ERK, extracellular regulated protein kinases.