Project description:HEAL PRECISION: Penn Human Precision Pain Center (HPPC): Discovery and Functional Evaluation of Human Primary Somatosensory Neurons at Baseline and Chronic Pain Conditions
Project description:Distinct representation of visceral and somatic pain by unique PVH neuronal ensembles and suggested that PVH as a pain sorting center that distinctly processes visceral and somatic pain, providing a new framework for comprehending how the brain processes nociceptive information and identifying potential molecular targets for specific pain processing.
Project description:Our perception of pain changes according to expectation, context and mood illustrating how top-down-circuits affect sensory processing. Here we developed an intersectional platform for identifying supraspinal descending neurons that are engaged when an animal experiences pain. Amongst these, we identified a cluster of cells in the pontine micturition center (Barrington’s nucleus), expressing corticotropin-releasing-hormone (BarCrh) that detect painful but not innocuous stimuli. When activated, BarCrh-neurons attenuate nocifensive responses as well as tactile neuropathic pain. Mechanistically, pain related input from the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray activates BarCrh-neurons, which in turn project to the spinal dorsal horn to mediate analgesia. In combination, our data demonstrate that Barrington’s nucleus is not just a relay station dedicated to triggering micturition but also powerfully controls painful sensory input to the brain.
Project description:We endeavored to identify objective blood biomarkers for pain, a subjective sensation with a biological basis, using a stepwise discovery, prioritization, validation, and testing in independent cohorts design. We studied psychiatric patients, a high risk group for co-morbid pain disorders and increased perception of pain. For discovery, we used a powerful withinsubject longitudinal design. We were successful in identifying blood gene expression biomarkers that were predictive of pain state, and of future emergency department (ED) visits for pain, more so when personalized by gender and diagnosis.
Project description:This study is part of the Mutant Mouse Regional Resource Center Research. The series subsets represent the strain and age group for easy comparisons. Each subseries has data for three different tissues (brain, liver and kidney) and 2 sexes. Keywords: other