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Cellular and molecular mechanisms of pain and pain control| old_uid | 12238 |
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| title | Cellular and molecular mechanisms of pain and pain control |
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| start_date | 2013/03/22 |
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| schedule | 11h30 |
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| online | no |
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| location_info | Amphi 5 |
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| details | Séminaire impromptu |
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| summary | Allan I. Basbaum, PhD, FRS is professor and chairman of the Department of Anatomy at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and holds a joint appointment in the Department of Physiology. He is also a member of the W. M. Keck Foundation Center for Integrative Neuroscience. Dr. Basbaum’s interest in pain research began as an undergraduate at McGill University, in Montreal, where he worked with Ronald Melzack. After receiving a Ph.D from the University of Pennsylvania, he did postdoctoral research at University College London, with Patrick Wall. He then moved to UCSF and was appointed to the faculty in 1977.
Dr. Basbaum’s research concerns the transmission and control of pain messages, and the molecular mechanisms that underlie the development of persistent pain after tissue or nerve injury. He has served on the Council of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), as its treasurer, and editor-in-chief of Pain, the journal of the IASP. Dr. Basbaum was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, to the Institute of Medicine and the British Academy of Medical Science. He is also a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of the Royal Society in the United Kingdom.
The nervous system detects and interprets a wide range of thermal and mechanical stimuli, as well as environmental and endogenous chemical irritants. When intense, these stimuli generate acute pain, and in the setting of persistent injury, both peripheral and central nervous system components of the pain transmission pathway exhibit tremendous plasticity, enhancing pain signals and producing hypersensitivity. When plasticity facilitates protective reflexes, it can be beneficial, but when the changes persist, a chronic pain condition may result. Genetic, electrophysiological, and pharmacological studies are elucidating the molecular mechanisms that underlie detection, coding, and modulation of noxious stimuli that generate pain. Furthermore, recent work in Prof. Basbaum’s laboratory has shown that forebrain GABAergic neuron precursors can integrate into adult spinal cord and reduce injury-induced neuropathic pain. |
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| responsibles | Deris |
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