Taken together these data suggest that GIRKs have a role in pain perception under specific conditions, and that they contribute to opioid-analgesia. However, the literature remains controversial on the role of the PAG and the LC as two key regions in the regulation of opioid-analgesia. Further insight may come from mouse lines in which GIRK subunits are mutated in a cell type-specific manner (e.g., only GIRK-expressing neurons in the locus coeruleus) or where GIRK channels are coupled to light-activated GPCRs.
