Synaptic Plasticity in Pain

Description

Primary sensory neurons respond to peripheral stimulation by projecting to the spinal cord, where a population of neurons respond to damaging stimuli and terminate in the superficial layers of the dorsal horn. Therefore, the dorsal horns constitute the first relay site for nociceptive fibre terminals which make synaptic contacts with second-order neurons. It has recently become clear, however, that the strength of this first pain synapse is plastic and modifiable by several modulators--including neuronal and non-neuronal regulators--and studies on the fundamental processes regulating this plasticity have resulted in the identification of new targets for the treatment of chronic pain. With special emphasis on neuropathic pain, Synaptic Plasticity in Pain examines these targets and mechanisms for chronic pain in the dorsal horn, providing up-to-date research from the world's foremost pain experts. The book also delineates anatomical circuits for pain in the dorsal horn, explores the fast and slow transmissions at the pain synapse, and discusses how synaptic plasticity can be monitored in the dorsal horn during pain transmission. Synaptic Plasticity in Pain is published at a time of intensive experimental research aimed at finding new mechanisms and targets for the treatment of chronic pain. This book will be of importance to a wide readership in the pain field including PhD students, doctoral scientists, and academics. It will also appeal to scientists who are interested in synaptic plasticity associated with other CNS functions, and to private sector drug discovery teams, who will find solid scientific support to their research in these pages. About the Editor: Dr. Marzia Malcangio holds a Bachelors' degree in pharmaceutical chemistry and a PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Florence, Italy. She spent most of her active scientific life in London,UK, establishing an internationally renowned laboratory devoted to the biology of spinal cord mechanisms underlying chronic pain. Her current work explores novel approaches for targeting neuropathic and arthritic pain, and the involvement of microglia and the mechanisms governing microglial-neuronal communication. Dr. Malcangio lives in London with her husband and two sons. Front Matter....Pages i-xiv Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Changes in NK1 and Glutamate Receptors in Pain....Pages 3-19 Trophic Factors and Their Receptors in Pain Pathways....Pages 21-45 Front Matter....Pages 47-47 Fast Inhibitory Transmission of Pain in the Spinal Cord....Pages 49-66 Synaptic Transmission of Pain in the Developing Spinal Cord....Pages 67-85 Front Matter....Pages 87-87 BDNF and TrkB Mediated Mechanisms in the Spinal Cord....Pages 89-108 Dorsal Horn Substance P and NK1 Receptors: Study of a Model System in Spinal Nociceptive Processing....Pages 109-138 Opioidergic Transmission in the Dorsal Horn....Pages 139-173 CGRP in Spinal Cord Pain Mechanisms....Pages 175-197 Front Matter....Pages 199-199 Long-Term Potentiation in Superficial Spinal Dorsal Horn: A Pain Amplifier....Pages 201-218 Modulation of Long-Term Potentiation of Excitatory Synaptic Transmission in the Spinal Cord Dorsal Horn....Pages 219-254 Windup in the Spinal Cord....Pages 255-267 Front Matter....Pages 269-269 Pain from the Arthritic Joint....Pages 271-288 Spinal Mechanisms of Visceral Pain and Hyperalgesia....Pages 289-306 Descending Modulation of Pain....Pages 307-335 Cannabinoid Receptor Mediated Analgesia: Novel Targets for Chronic Pain States....Pages 337-351 Spinal Dynorphin and Neuropathic Pain....Pages 353-366 Microglia, Cytokines and Pain....Pages 367-386 The Role of Astrocytes in the Modulation of Pain....Pages 387-402 Spinal Cord Phospholipase A 2 and Prostanoids in Pain Processing....Pages 403-423 MAP Kinase and Cell Signaling in DRG Neurons and Spinal Microglia in Neuropathic Pain....Pages 425-438 Front Matter....Pages 269-269 Microglia and Trophic Factors in Neuropathic Pain States....Pages 439-453 The Cathepsin S/Fractalkine Pair: New Players in Spinal Cord Neuropathic Pain Mechanisms....Pages 455-471 Back Matter....Pages 473-504