2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Changes of GABAergic function in primary somatosensory cortex under chronic pain conditions
Project/Area Number |
24590739
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Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
Section | 一般 |
Research Field |
Pain science
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Research Institution | Kitasato University (2013-2014) National Institute for Physiological Sciences (2012) |
Principal Investigator |
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Research Collaborator |
YAMAGUCHI Junya
NAKAHATA Yoshihisa
ETO Kei
ISHIKAWA Tatsuya
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Project Period (FY) |
2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
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Keywords | 生理学 / 神経科学 / 慢性疼痛 / GABA / 神経回路 / 大脳皮質 / パッチクランプ法 |
Outline of Final Research Achievements |
Previous studies indicate that plastic changes in the brain likely contribute to chronic pain syndrome. However, its mechanism remained to be clarified. In the present study, we investigated the excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmission in the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) under chronic pain conditions. We also studied the functional properties of inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA. Excitatory synaptic transmission in the S1 were enhanced in the chronic pain model. Thus activities of not only excitatory but also inhibitory neurons were increased in the S1. On the other hand, a reduction in the function of the potassium-chloride cotransporter, KCC2, occurred during chronic pain, which reduces the efficacy of the inhibitory outputs onto the L2/3 excitatory neurons. Thus, the present results suggest that, the GABA-mediated inhibition is insufficient to completely counterbalance the increased excitation and alleviate the symptoms of chronic pain.
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Free Research Field |
生理学
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