Guang Yang, PhD

Assosciate Professor, Department of Anesthesiology

Columbia University

Host(s): Carol Mason (Faculty)

Circuit Mechanisms of neuropathic pain development

Neuropathic pain is a debilitating chronic condition characterized by significant changes in both the peripheral and central nervous systems. However, the mechanisms by which changes in neuronal circuits contribute to the development of neuropathic pain remain unclear. In this talk, I will present evidence showing that peripheral nerve injury induces synchronized activity in dorsal root ganglion neurons, which subsequently triggers changes in brain circuits leading to chronic pain. Furthermore, peripheral nerve injury increases the activity of cholinergic neurons in the basal forebrain during nonrapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. This heightened cholinergic activity, driven by increased input from the parabrachial nucleus, activates VIPexpressing interneurons in the primary somatosensory cortex, resulting in cortical disinhibition that contributes to allodynia. Moreover, our recent studies have identified a distinct mesocortical glutamatergic pathway that critically modulates neuropathic pain independent of dopamine signaling. Together, these findings illuminate key circuit mechanisms underlying neuropathic pain and suggest that targeting the pain pathway during NREM sleep may provide a potential therapeutic strategy to prevent both the onset and persistence of chronic pain.

Relevant Publications:

A sleep-active basalocortical pathway crucial for generation and maintenance of chronic pain

A mesocortical glutamatergic pathway modeulates neurpathic pain independent of dopamine co-release

Venue Information:

Speaker Location: Jerome L. Greene Science Center, Kavli Auditorium, 9th Floor Lecture Hall

Tuesdays@10 is a signature Zuckerman Institute initiative that aims to expose researchers at all levels to high-quality science and stimulate scientific discourse. The speakers featured in this series represent various fields and techniques in neuroscience, and include invited guests of the Columbia Neuroscience Seminars, the Zuckerman Institute's Local Circuits Affiliates Program, and other special seminar series through a combined, collaborative effort of one or more of the following: Columbia's Zuckerman Institute, the Center for Precision Psychiatry, the Department of Neuroscience, the Doctoral Program in Neurobiology and Behavior and the Columbia Translational Neuroscience Initiative, and with support from the Kavli Institute for Brain Science. 

More information and a full schedule can be found here.