To determine this, we performed qRT-PCR to assess mRNA expression levels of Beclin-1 in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), a brain region that has been well-documented to display plasticity in mouse models of chronic pain and is critical for the expression of pain hypersensitivity and increases in anxiety-like behavior in mouse models of neuropathic pain (Zhuo, 2008; Li et al., 2010; Koga et al., 2015; Fillinger et al., 2018; Song et al., 2024). This evidence concerns the gene BECN1 and Anxiety.