Behavioral Core

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The measurement of behavioral signs of evoked and spontaneous pain in rodents is essential to the success of all the 4 subprojects in this program. The Behavioral Core includes 8 newly designed test rooms in a new research Building (MSRBIII). All the behavioral tests in Aim 1 and Aim 2 of all 4 projects will be conducted blindly by three well-trained technicians. All the behavioral data will be saved electronically, analyzed by two statisticians, and shared with Project PIs. We will measure evoked pain such as mechanical allodynia and cold allodynia in both sexes in 4 clinically relevant mouse models of pain. We will also test ongoing pain using conditioned place preference and avoidance (CPP and CPA). We will also measure pain-associated co- morbidity, such as anxiety and depression. We will test the hypothesis that swim stress can prolong the duration of pain. Pain-related behaviors will be tested before and after complementary treatments such as electroacpuncture and DHA. The central hypothesis of this Program Project is that multiple complementary approaches, including electroacupuncture and natural product DHA, may modify distinct inflammation and neuroinflammation processes. We will test our hypotheses in four clinically relevant animal models via the following specific aims: Specific Aim 1: Define the time course of neuropathic pain, postoperative pain, functional pain, and trigeminal pain in 4 clinically relevant mouse models and test the effects of stress and sex on the duration of pain in these models; Specific Aim 2: Ascertain the effects of pre-treatment and post- treatment of EA, aEA, DHA, and RvD1 on neuropathic pain, postoperative pain, functional pain, and trigeminal pain in 4 mouse models; Specific Aim 3 (Exploratory): Develop operant behavioral assays for non-reflexed ongoing pain. We will develop and optimize operant measurement of orofacial pain using Orofacial Stimulation of Ugo Basile. We will also optimize vocalization for detecting acute and chronic pain. Testing behavior in different animal models by the same experienced personnel in the Behavioral Core and collecting the data using electronic-data-report-system will enhance the Scientific Rigor and Reproducibility of the PPG.