The fundamental problem with pain is that it cannot be seen. We can see injury, but pain and injury are quite often not related. Brain imaging has demonstrated consistent patterns of activity when we feel pain, and long-term changes that happen in chronic, i.e. persistent, painful disorders. This project will use the best technology available to investigate the basics of how our brains perceive pain, and to shed light on some of the brain mechanisms that underpin chronic pain.
Brain Training In Osteoarthritis - Does It Decrease Pain?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$299,564.00
Summary
In people with osteoarthritis (OA), the amount of pain is often not related to the amount of joint damage seen on x-ray. This suggests that there are other processes contributing to their pain. Recently, the role of the brain in contributing to chronic pain has been investigated. This project aims to determine what parts of the brain are affected in people with OA. It also aims to develop new treatments that target these brain areas and determine if these brain-training treatments decrease pain.
Pain Systems Analysis Highlights PI3K Gamma As A Candidate Regulator Of Nociception.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$461,810.00
Summary
Chronic pain will affect most of us at one point in our life, and there is a need for new drugs to manage this condition. The goal of this project is to use our computer modeling of genetic data from multiple species to predict new drug targets, and then use mouse models to look at the mechanism of action for predicted drug targets, and validate one potential drug target in particular for its therapeutic abilities to stop chronic pain.
Current treatments for chronic pain are limited in their success. This emphasises the need for new insights into the basic mechanisms and nervous system circuitry underlying altered or chronic pain states. Work in animals and patients with chronic pain shows that certain brainstem centres communicate, via descending spinal cord pathways, with small nerve cells in the superficial dorsal horn (SDH) of the spinal cord. These SDH neurones receive and process pain-signalling information from the skin ....Current treatments for chronic pain are limited in their success. This emphasises the need for new insights into the basic mechanisms and nervous system circuitry underlying altered or chronic pain states. Work in animals and patients with chronic pain shows that certain brainstem centres communicate, via descending spinal cord pathways, with small nerve cells in the superficial dorsal horn (SDH) of the spinal cord. These SDH neurones receive and process pain-signalling information from the skin and internal organs, and receive inputs from descending pathways. This descending input can either inhibit or enhance the activity of SDH neurones and subsequent pain perception. Till now it has been difficult to directly examine how descending pain pathways influence the small SDH neurones in the spinal cord. A new approach, which has been developed in our laboratory, now allows us to record from these very small SDH neurones in the spinal cord of an intact deeply anaesthetized mouse. In addition, our technique allows us to examine the recorded SDH neurone s responses to functionally relevant stimuli (brushing or pinching the hindpaw) as well as its physiology and anatomy. This project will use our new techniques to examine the effects of activating descending brainstem pathways that alter the way painful stimuli are processed in the spinal cord. The effects of altered levels of inhibition in the spinal cord will also be studied by using mice with naturally occurring mutations in their inhibitory glycine receptors. We believe a more complete understanding of pain processing mechanisms will be achieved by examining the role of descending pathways in an intact animal preparation. Such data are essential for the development of drug therapies that can successfully target pain syndromes.Read moreRead less
Targeting GDNF Family Ligand (GFL) Signalling To Treat Inflammatory Bone Pain
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$329,285.00
Summary
Pain associated with bone marrow oedema syndromes, osteomyelitis, osteoarthritis, fractures and bone cancer causes a major burden on individuals and health care systems in Australia and worldwide. In this application, we will explore specific signalling pathways that we have identified in nerves that code bone pain. This will provide an opportunity for the rational design of highly specific drugs capable of interacting exclusively with molecules that drive pain in these conditions.
Synaesthesia For Pain: Incidence And Manifestation
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$332,001.00
Summary
I am a researcher interested in how we process pain in ourselves and others. I have identified a novel phenomenon whereby some individuals not only have empathy for others in pain, but experience pain in their own bodies when they see others in pain. I will further investigate these experiences to understand and highlight whether there are any distinct emotional, empathic, attentional or brain processes in people who experience empathic pain with a view to establishing appropriate treatment.
Testing The Imprecision Hypothesis Of Chronic Pain.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$788,984.00
Summary
Pain usually occurs when something triggers activity in danger receptors, which are all over the body. The brain receives a huge amount of other sensory input too, which tells the brain what was happening when the danger arose. The brain imprints this sensory barrage and uses it as an early (painful!) warning system next time. If the imprint is imprecise, then the painful warning occurs in non-dangerous situations. We will test whether imprecise imprinting of the sensory input causes the gradual ....Pain usually occurs when something triggers activity in danger receptors, which are all over the body. The brain receives a huge amount of other sensory input too, which tells the brain what was happening when the danger arose. The brain imprints this sensory barrage and uses it as an early (painful!) warning system next time. If the imprint is imprecise, then the painful warning occurs in non-dangerous situations. We will test whether imprecise imprinting of the sensory input causes the gradual development of chronic debilitating pain.Read moreRead less
Use Of A Novel Technique To Identify The Sensory Nerve Endings That Respond To Painful Stimuli In The Upper Gastrointestinal Tract And Characterize Their Mechanisms Of Activation
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$353,243.00
Summary
Many people experience pain in their upper gastrointestinal tract. Unlike the skin, however, we have no idea where the sensory nerve endings that detect pain are located in this part of the body, and no clear understanding of how these nerve endings are activated to cause pain. This project will utilise a novel technique recently developed by the CIA to finally identify and record directly from the sensory nerve endings that detect painful stimuli in the upper gastrointestinal tract and characte ....Many people experience pain in their upper gastrointestinal tract. Unlike the skin, however, we have no idea where the sensory nerve endings that detect pain are located in this part of the body, and no clear understanding of how these nerve endings are activated to cause pain. This project will utilise a novel technique recently developed by the CIA to finally identify and record directly from the sensory nerve endings that detect painful stimuli in the upper gastrointestinal tract and characterise the mechanisms underlying their activation.Read moreRead less
Understanding How Inflammatory Bowel Disease Causes Hypersensitivity Of Colonic Sensory Nerve Endings And Increased Abdominal Pain
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$589,466.00
Summary
Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) commonly experience increased abdominal pain. This project utilises two novel techniques developed by the Chief investigator, that allow us to understand how inflammation of the large intestine leads to increased pain sensations. This project will use these new techniques to identify, for the first time, the sensory nerve endings that detect painful stimuli from within the large intestine; and how these nerve endings become hyperexcitable during inf ....Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) commonly experience increased abdominal pain. This project utilises two novel techniques developed by the Chief investigator, that allow us to understand how inflammation of the large intestine leads to increased pain sensations. This project will use these new techniques to identify, for the first time, the sensory nerve endings that detect painful stimuli from within the large intestine; and how these nerve endings become hyperexcitable during inflammation to cause increased abdominal pain.Read moreRead less