Descending Control of Nociception (DCN) poorly predicts the development of persistent postsurgical pain-like behavior in consomic Dahl S rat strains.

DCN poorly predicted which rat strains developed CPSP-like behavior despite controlling for genetic, environmental and sex differences. Two consomic strains that mimic clinical chronic postsurgical pain criteria and display a strong negative correlation with DCN were identified, offering novel candidates for future experiments exploring mechanisms that lead to chronic postsurgical pain.