The impact of peri-operative analgesia on neuropharmacological outcomes in rodent models of chronic pain.

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Chronic pain affects approximately 20% of the population, and since currently prescribed analgesics are ineffective in three quarters of these individuals, identifying novel pharmacotherapeutic targets is imperative. Multiple mechanisms contribute to the pain of a single disease and animal research is vital in order that we may expand our knowledge regarding the underlying causes of persistent pain states. It is possible to model varied chronic pain diseases in rodent models. This involves the use of surgical procedures that ethically require analgesia. However, since basic pain researchers wish to measure pain-related behaviours animals are more often that not denied peri-operative analgesia. This in turn means that pain will arise not only from the disease-inducing surgery, but also from the tissue damage/inflammation associated with the surgical incisions themselves. In the first part of my PhD I want to refine peri-operative analgesic administration for rodents undergoing surgeries, potentially reducing their unnecessary post-operative pain. The second part of my PhD focus on the functionality of descending modulatory pathways in certain disease states while monitoring any detrimental effect of peri-operative analgesia on neuropharmacological outcomes.