This multidisciplinary SCOR is devoted to the study of the mechanisms of chronic or persistent pain with specialized focus on 1) sex-related factors that influence pain, and 2) painful clinical conditions that demonstrate a high prevalence in women. The Center's research program is diverse, and ranges from molecular studies to systems physiology studies to clinical studies. Our working model is that research on pain has clearly shown that a person's sex is an important factor in determining their perception of, and response to, painful stimulation and pathological pain. Several physiological and psychological mechanisms have been proposed to account for these sex differences, yet many hypotheses remain to be adequately tested. This SCOR would direct its efforts to evaluating physiological models of sex-related pain differences, including the influence of gonadal hormones. Additionally, this Center would evaluate pathophysiological models of chronic pain conditions that are more prevalent in women, focusing on temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD) and the visceral pain associated with conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (113S). This Center would facilitate the transfer of basic scientific knowledge to the study of persistent pain in humans, and ultimately to the development of new methods of diagnosing and treating these conditions in the general population. One clinical and two basic science projects constitute the scientific basis of the application. The two principal objectives of this SCOR are: 1) To elucidate the underlying mechanisms associated with sex differences in persistent pain of deep muscle and visceral origin. Human and animal studies will explore hypothesized physiological mechanisms of sex differences in pain, including opioid receptor expression, peripheral nociceptor sensitivity, CNS sensitization, and CNS ascending/descending modulation, as well as the influence of gonadal steroids on these mechanisms. All three projects address this objective. 2) To explore the neural basis of temporomandibular disorder (TMD) pain, with special emphasis upon sex-related hypotheses. TMD is the major persistent orofacial pain condition of deep tissue origin. It shows a large prevalence in women of childbearing age. The pathophysiology of TMD is poorly understood, but several hypotheses based on sex-related factors have been proposed. Two of the proposed projects (#1and #3) direct efforts explicitly to evaluate such hypotheses.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
Type
Specialized Center (P50)
Project #
5P50AR049555-03
Application #
6797873
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZAR1-AAA-C (O2))
Program Officer
Ader, Deborah N
Project Start
2002-09-20
Project End
2007-08-31
Budget Start
2004-09-01
Budget End
2005-08-31
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2004
Total Cost
$1,028,627
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Maryland Baltimore
Department
Other Basic Sciences
Type
Schools of Dentistry
DUNS #
188435911
City
Baltimore
State
MD
Country
United States
Zip Code
21201
Veldhuijzen, Dieuwke S; Keaser, Michael L; Traub, Deborah S et al. (2013) The role of circulating sex hormones in menstrual cycle-dependent modulation of pain-related brain activation. Pain 154:548-59
Garrett, Pauline H; Sarlani, Eleni; Grace, Edward G et al. (2013) Chronic temporomandibular disorders are not necessarily associated with a compromised endogenous analgesic system. J Orofac Pain 27:142-50
LaPrairie, Jamie L; Murphy, Anne Z (2010) Long-term impact of neonatal injury in male and female rats: Sex differences, mechanisms and clinical implications. Front Neuroendocrinol 31:193-202
Wesselmann, Ursula; Baranowski, Andrew P; Börjesson, Mats et al. (2009) EMERGING THERAPIES AND NOVEL APPROACHES TO VISCERAL PAIN. Drug Discov Today Ther Strateg 6:89-95
Loyd, Dayna R; Murphy, Anne Z (2009) The role of the periaqueductal gray in the modulation of pain in males and females: are the anatomy and physiology really that different? Neural Plast 2009:462879
Veldhuijzen, Dieuwke S; Nemenov, Michael I; Keaser, Michael et al. (2009) Differential brain activation associated with laser-evoked burning and pricking pain: An event-related fMRI study. Pain 141:104-13
Murphy, Anne Z; Suckow, Shelby K; Johns, Malcolm et al. (2009) Sex differences in the activation of the spinoparabrachial circuit by visceral pain. Physiol Behav 97:205-12
Loyd, Dayna R; Wang, Xioaya; Murphy, Anne Z (2008) Sex differences in micro-opioid receptor expression in the rat midbrain periaqueductal gray are essential for eliciting sex differences in morphine analgesia. J Neurosci 28:14007-17
Loyd, Dayna R; Morgan, Michael M; Murphy, Anne Z (2008) Sexually dimorphic activation of the periaqueductal gray-rostral ventromedial medullary circuit during the development of tolerance to morphine in the rat. Eur J Neurosci 27:1517-24
Loyd, Dayna R; Murphy, Anne Z (2008) Androgen and estrogen (alpha) receptor localization on periaqueductal gray neurons projecting to the rostral ventromedial medulla in the male and female rat. J Chem Neuroanat 36:216-26

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