What drives the pain associated with inflammation is unknown as is the relationship between pain and the extent of tissue damage associated with disease, for example, arthritis. Our laboratory has shown that a particular protein is a key mediator of inflammatory pain. The project is to understand how this particular protein promotes pain, including how it sensitzes neurons.
Reconsideration Of The Mechanisms Underlying Movement Changes With Pain
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$401,361.00
Summary
Pain changes the way we move. Although undisputed, there is a surprising lack of agreement regarding the underlying mechanisms. This project involves an innovative mix of neurophysiological methods to investigate how the drive to muscle cells from the nervous system is altered during pain. We aim to resolve the perplexing problem of how pain changes our ability to activate muscle. Our findings are likely to provide a clear understanding of the underlying mechanisms and guide rehabilitation.
The Effects Of Tonic Muscle Pain On The Sympathetic And Somatic Motor Systems In Human Subjects
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$462,948.00
Summary
The main objective of this proposal is to reveal the effects of nociceptive reflexes in humans, and thus identify their functional and clinical implications. By performing invasive recordings from the nerves that control blood vessels and muscles in healthy volunteers subjected to long-lasting (~1 hour) experimental pain, this work will increase our understanding of the adaptive changes that pain induces and improve treatments to prevent pain from becoming chronic.