Pain's Intricacies: Unveiling Mechanisms and Emotional Ties

Co-Chair(s)

• 

  Caio Sarmento, PT, PhD

  Assistant Professor
  Physical Therapy
  California State University, Fresno
  Fresno, California, United States
• 

  Rebecca Pratt, Ph.D

  Professor
  Oakland University School of Medicine

A recent study from the NIH National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health found that 21% of US adults experience chronic pain, pain on most days or every day during the past three months. This symposium brings together several exceptional basic and translational scientists to discuss their cutting-edge work in visualizing “pain” from peripheral tissues to the central nervous system. The symposium will begin with a brief pre-recorded address from Helen G. James, a physical therapist with 96 years of life experience who practices manual therapy for painful musculoskeletal conditions. AAA Fellow Dr. Mary Barbe will describe the effects of repetition and force on peripheral tissues as a consequence of upper extremity overuse injuries, using a unique operant rat model developed in her laboratory. Dr. Barbe will describe the visualization of inflammation and tissue fibrosis that occur with the overuse of musculoskeletal tissues. Dr. Serge Marchand will discuss neurophysiological mechanisms responsible for the development and persistence of chronic pain and biomarkers in different populations experiencing pain, such as persons with fibromyalgia, cerebral palsy, and autism spectrum disorder. AAA Fellow Dr. Allan Basbaum will present groundbreaking work using calcium imaging to record from the same spinal neurons in awake, behaving mice for months. The breakthrough came from developing a technique to prevent fibrosis, and the neuronal properties are completely different than what has been described in anesthetized animals. The symposium is anticipated to be of interest to basic scientists, developmental biologists, clinicians, and educators in the anatomical sciences.

Presentations:

• 8:30am – 9:00am US EDT

  Contributions of Chronic Inflammation and Tissue Fibrosis to Musculoskeletal Dysfunction and Pain
  

  Speaker: Mary F. Barbe – Temple University
• 9:00am – 9:30am US EDT

  Biomarkers in Diverse Populations Experiencing Pain
  

  Speaker: Serge Marchand – Université de Sherbrooke
• 9:30am – 10:00am US EDT

  Visualizing Spinal Cord Neurons in Awake, Behaving Mice
  

  Speaker: Allan I. Basbaum – University of California, San Francisco