Medical Neurobiology Commons^™

Protein Kinase A And Epac Mediate Chronic Pain After Injury: Prolonged Inhibition By Endogenous Y1 Receptors In Dorsal Horn, Weisi Fu

Theses and Dissertations--Physiology

Inflammation or nerve injury sensitizes several populations of nociceptive neurons in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord, including those that express the neuropeptide Y (NPY) Y1 receptor (Y1R). Our overall hypothesis is that after tissue or nerve injury, these Y1R-expressing neurons enter a state of latent sensitization (LS) that contributes to vulnerability to the development of chronic pain; furthermore, LS is under the tonic inhibitory control of endogenous Y1R signaling. First, we evaluated the intracellular signaling pathways that become activated in Y1R-expressing neurons and participate in LS. To do this, we established behavioral models of inflammatory or neuropathic pain, …