Dynamic Mechanisms of Pain Modulation

描述(由申请人提供)：与疼痛相关的疾病导致人类痛苦的不可估量的代价，并提出一个重大的经济问题。由于缺乏有关处理疼痛相关信息的基本神经机制的信息，这些疾病的新治疗方法的开发受到了阻碍。到目前为止，对促进疼痛的机制的动态激活的研究已经为慢性疼痛的神经生理学和神经药理学提供了实质性的见解。然而，对抑制机制的动态反应特性的了解仍然有限，尽管事实上抑制的中断也可能导致慢性疼痛。最近发现的一种镇痛现象--抵消镇痛，为研究抑制机制的动态激活提供了有力的工具。一系列人体心理物理研究将系统地描述在急性疼痛状态下启动和维持抵消镇痛的神经生理学和神经药理学机制，并确定紊乱的抵消镇痛对病理生理疼痛状态的贡献。总之，这些研究将显著提高我们对疼痛基本神经机制的了解，并将为开发新的疼痛治疗方法提供基础。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Pain-related disorders cause an incalculable toll in human suffering and present a significant economic problem. The development of new treatments for these disorders is hindered by a lack of information about the basic neural mechanisms that process pain-related information. To date, investigations of the dynamic activation of mechanisms that facilitate pain have provided substantial insights into the neurophysiology and neuropharmacology of chronic pain. However, understanding of the dynamic response properties of inhibitory mechanisms has remained limited, despite the fact that disruption of inhibition may also contribute substantially to chronic pain. A recently identified analgesic phenomenon, offset analgesia, provides a powerful tool for the study of dynamic activation of inhibitory mechanisms. A series of psychophysical studies in humans subjects will systematically delineate the neurophysiological and neuropharmacological mechanisms that initiate and maintain offset analgesia during acute pain states, and determine the contribution of disrupted offset analgesia to pathophysiological pain states. Together, these studies will significantly enhance our knowledge of basic neural mechanisms underlying pain and will provide a foundation for the development of novel treatments for pain.