Dissection of a cortical microcircuit for the processing of pain affect

Projektinformationen

CorPain

ID Finanzhilfevereinbarung: 682905

DOI

10.3030/682905

Projekt abgeschlossen

EK-Unterschriftsdatum 20 Juni 2016

Startdatum 1 September 2016

Enddatum 31 August 2021

Finanziert unter

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)

Gesamtkosten

€ 1 928 125,00

EU-Beitrag

€ 1 928 125,00

Koordiniert durch

UNIVERSITAET BERN
Switzerland

Periodic Reporting for period 4 - CorPain (Dissection of a cortical microcircuit for the processing of pain affect)

Berichtszeitraum: 2021-03-01 bis 2021-08-31

Zusammenfassung vom Kontext und den Gesamtzielen des Projekts

Chronic pain is a major health issue. It is estimated that about 20% of the adult European population suffer from some form of chronic pain. This pathological condition severely impacts quality of life and it is often associated with further symptoms like sleep disturbances, lack of motivation, anxiety and depression. The emotional and affective components during the development of chronic pain are poorly understood and difficult to treat.
We are investigating the cellular mechanisms that lead to the chronification of pain and the development of emotional disturbances in a preclinical model. We are particularly interested in the anterior cingulate cortex, a brain region that is involved in in emotional and affective pain processing. This brain region is consistently activated during nociception and it becomes hyperactive in chronic pain. We would like to understand which changes occur during the transition to chronic pain on the level of single neurons and of neuronal networks. Then we would like to associate these changes to anxiety and depression and suggest novel treatment strategies.

Arbeit, die ab Beginn des Projekts bis zum Ende des durch den Bericht erfassten Berichtszeitraums geleistet wurde, und die wichtigsten bis dahin erzielten Ergebnisse

We have longitudinally followed the activity patterns of identified neurons in the anterior cingulate cortex and found changes in their activity pattern that are consistent with changes in their electrophysiological properties in the chronic pain state.

Fortschritte, die über den aktuellen Stand der Technik hinausgehen und voraussichtliche potenzielle Auswirkungen (einschließlich der bis dato erzielten sozioökonomischen Auswirkungen und weiter gefassten gesellschaftlichen Auswirkungen des Projekts)

By the end of the project we will have a detailed mechanistic understanding what network changes occur during the transition to chronic pain and we will propose novel treatment strategies for this condition.

Fluorescence image of neurons in the ACC and the corresponding spontaneous activity.