All Outputs (20)

Sustained morphine exposure alters spinal NMDA receptor and astrocyte expression and exacerbates chronic pain behavior in female rats (2024)
Journal Article

IntroductionSustained opioid use has long-term negative impacts on future pain experience, particularly in women. This study aimed to investigate the underlying spinal neurobiology of this clinical observation in an experimental model of joint pain.O... Read More about Sustained morphine exposure alters spinal NMDA receptor and astrocyte expression and exacerbates chronic pain behavior in female rats.

No Evidence for Cognitive Impairment in an Experimental Rat Model of Knee Osteoarthritis and Associated Chronic Pain (2023)
Journal Article

Although chronic pain states have been associated with impaired cognitive functions, including memory and cognitive flexibility, the cognitive effects of osteoarthritis (OA) pain remain to be clarified. The aim of this study was to measure cognitive... Read More about No Evidence for Cognitive Impairment in an Experimental Rat Model of Knee Osteoarthritis and Associated Chronic Pain.

Evaluation of cannabidiol nanoparticles and nanoemulsion biodistribution in the central nervous system after intrathecal administration for the treatment of pain (2023)
Journal Article

We investigated how the biodistribution of cannabidiol (CBD) within the central nervous system (CNS) is influenced by two different formulations, an oil-in-water (O/W) nanoemulsion and polymer-coated nanoparticles (PCNPs). We observed that both CBD f... Read More about Evaluation of cannabidiol nanoparticles and nanoemulsion biodistribution in the central nervous system after intrathecal administration for the treatment of pain.

Anxiety enhances pain in a model of osteoarthritis and is associated with altered endogenous opioid function and reduced opioid analgesia (2021)
Journal Article

Introduction: Negative affect, including anxiety and depression, is prevalent in chronic pain states such as osteoarthritis (OA) and associated with greater use of opioid analgesics, potentially contributing to present and future opioid crises.... Read More about Anxiety enhances pain in a model of osteoarthritis and is associated with altered endogenous opioid function and reduced opioid analgesia.

Neonatal complete Freund's adjuvant-induced inflammation does not induce or alter hyperalgesic priming or alter adult distributions of C-fibre dorsal horn innervation (2020)
Journal Article

Introduction: Inflammation during the neonatal period can exacerbate pain severity following reinjury in adulthood. This is driven by alterations in the postnatal development of spinal and supraspinal nociceptive circuitry. However, the contribution... Read More about Neonatal complete Freund's adjuvant-induced inflammation does not induce or alter hyperalgesic priming or alter adult distributions of C-fibre dorsal horn innervation.

Stroking modulates noxious-evoked brain activity in human infants (2018)
Journal Article

A subclass of C fibre sensory neurons found in hairy skin are activated by gentle touch [1] and respond optimally to stroking at ∼1–10 cm/s, serving a protective function by promoting affiliative behaviours. In adult humans, stimulation of these C-ta... Read More about Stroking modulates noxious-evoked brain activity in human infants.

Lamina-specific population encoding of cutaneous signals in the spinal dorsal horn using multi-electrode arrays (2018)
Journal Article

The dorsal spinal cord (DH) is a complex laminar structure integrating peripheral signals into the central nervous system. Spinal somatosensory processing is commonly measured electrophysiologically in vivo by recording the activity of individual Wid... Read More about Lamina-specific population encoding of cutaneous signals in the spinal dorsal horn using multi-electrode arrays.

The influence of the descending pain modulatory system on infant pain-related brain activity (2018)
Journal Article

The descending pain modulatory system (DPMS) constitutes a network of widely distributed brain regions whose integrated function is essential for effective modulation of sensory input to the central nervous system and behavioural responses to pain. A... Read More about The influence of the descending pain modulatory system on infant pain-related brain activity.

Differential contributions of peripheral and central mechanisms to pain in a rodent model of osteoarthritis (2018)
Journal Article

The mechanisms underlying the transition from acute nociceptive pain to centrally maintained chronic pain are not clear. We have studied the contributions of the peripheral and central nervous systems during the development of osteoarthritis (OA) pai... Read More about Differential contributions of peripheral and central mechanisms to pain in a rodent model of osteoarthritis.

The peptide PnPP-19, a spider toxin derivative, activates ?-opioid receptors and modulates calcium channels (2018)
Journal Article

The synthetic peptide PnPP-19 comprehends 19 amino acid residues and it represents part of the primary structure of the toxin ?-CNTX-Pn1c (PnTx2-6), isolated from the venom of the spider Phoneutria nigriventer. Behavioural tests suggest that PnPP-19... Read More about The peptide PnPP-19, a spider toxin derivative, activates ?-opioid receptors and modulates calcium channels.

Cancer chemotherapy in early life significantly alters the maturation of pain processing (2017)
Journal Article

Advances in paediatric cancer treatment have led to a ten year survival rate greater than 75%. Platinum-based chemotherapies (e.g.cisplatin) induce peripheral sensory neuropathy in adult and paedriatric cancer patients. The period from birth through... Read More about Cancer chemotherapy in early life significantly alters the maturation of pain processing.

Age-dependent plasticity in endocannabinoid modulation of pain processing through postnatal development (2017)
Journal Article

Significant age and experience-dependent remodelling of spinal and supraspinal neural networks occur resulting in altered pain responses in early life. In adults endogenous opioid peptide and endocannabinoid (ECs) pain control systems exist which mod... Read More about Age-dependent plasticity in endocannabinoid modulation of pain processing through postnatal development.

Inhibitory effects of aspirin-triggered resolvin D1 on spinal nociceptive processing in rat pain models (2016)
Journal Article

Background Harnessing the actions of the resolvin pathways has the potential for the treatment of a wide range of conditions associated with overt inflammatory signalling. Aspirin-triggered resolvin D1 (AT-RvD1) has robust analgesic effects in behav... Read More about Inhibitory effects of aspirin-triggered resolvin D1 on spinal nociceptive processing in rat pain models.

Neuron-immune mechanisms contribute to pain in early stages of arthritis (2016)
Journal Article

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients frequently show weak correlations between the magnitude of pain and inflammation suggesting that mechanisms other than overt peripheral inflammation contribute to pain in RA. We assessed changes in micro... Read More about Neuron-immune mechanisms contribute to pain in early stages of arthritis.

Developmental alterations in noxious-evoked EEG activity recorded from rat primary somatosensory cortex (2015)
Journal Article

Primary somatosensory cortex (S1) contains a nociceptive map that localizes potential tissue damage on the body and encodes stimulus intensity. An objective and specific biomarker of pain however is currently lacking and is urgently required for use... Read More about Developmental alterations in noxious-evoked EEG activity recorded from rat primary somatosensory cortex.

A quantification of the relationship between neuronal responses in the rat rostral ventromedial medulla and noxious stimulation-evoked withdrawal reflexes (2015)
Journal Article

The rostral ventromedial medulla (RVM) regulates a range of involuntary behaviours but is most often associated with nociception via the action of pronociceptive ON cells and antinociceptive OFF cells. The phasic responses of ON and OFF cells determi... Read More about A quantification of the relationship between neuronal responses in the rat rostral ventromedial medulla and noxious stimulation-evoked withdrawal reflexes.

Surgical injury in the neonatal rat alters the adult pattern of descending modulation from the rostroventral medulla (2015)
Journal Article

Background: Neonatal pain and injury can alter long-term sensory thresholds. Descending rostroventral medulla (RVM) pathways can inhibit or facilitate spinal nociceptive processing in adulthood. As these pathways undergo significant postnatal maturat... Read More about Surgical injury in the neonatal rat alters the adult pattern of descending modulation from the rostroventral medulla.

Risk-based learning games improve long-term retention of information among school pupils (2014)
Journal Article

Risk heightens motivation and, if used appropriately, may have the potential to improve engagement in the classroom. We have developed a risk-based learning game for school pupils in order to test whether such learning games can improve later recall... Read More about Risk-based learning games improve long-term retention of information among school pupils.

Overcoming the barriers to greater public engagement (2014)
Journal Article

Postnatal maturation of endogenous opioid systems within the periaqueductal grey and spinal dorsal horn of the rat (2014)
Journal Article

Significant opioid-dependent changes occur during the fourth postnatal week in supraspinal sites (rostroventral medulla [RVM], periaqueductal grey [PAG]) that are involved in the descending control of spinal excitability via the dorsal horn (DH). Her... Read More about Postnatal maturation of endogenous opioid systems within the periaqueductal grey and spinal dorsal horn of the rat.