Understanding early-life pain and its effects on adult human and animal emotionality: Translational lessons from rodent and zebrafish models.

• Animal models probe long-term biological consequences of early-life pain (ELP). • Here, we discuss experimental models of ELP in rodents and zebrafish. • We emphasize the role of ELP experience in shaping personality traits later in life. • We also note shared neural underpinnings of ELP and early-life stress. Critical for organismal survival, pain evokes strong physiological and behavioral responses in various sentient species. Clinical and preclinical (animal) studies markedly increase our understanding of biological consequences of developmental (early-life) adversity, as well as acute and chronic pain. However, the long-term effects of early-life pain exposure on human and animal emotional responses remain poorly understood. Here, we discuss experimental models of nociception in rodents and zebrafish, and summarize mounting evidence of the role of early-life pain in shaping emotional traits later in life. We also call for further development of animal models to probe the impact of early-life pain exposure on behavioral traits, brain disorders and novel therapeutic treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]