Visceral pain and psychiatric disorders

The high comorbidity existing between visceral pain and psychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety is well documented and it is gaining increasing interest among scientists. When visceral pain and psychiatric disorders are comorbid, they present a more debilitating condition than each disorder alone, impacting significantly on the quality of life of these patients. Despite several groups having shown that an overlapping pathophysiology exists between visceral pain and stress-related disorders the link between them is not clear yet. Moreover, it still remains to be elucidated if psychiatric conditions predispose the individual to develop visceral hypersensitivity or vice versa. The brain-gut-microbiome axis is the bidirectional communication between the CNS and the gastrointestinal tract. Alterations at different levels of this axis have been implicated in both visceral hypersensitivity and psychiatric disorders. Here we give an overview of what it is known about comorbid visceral pain and psychiatric disorders and provide evidence of potential overlapping pathophysiological mechanisms involved. Preclinical models of comorbid visceral pain and stress-related disorders are also discussed.