Description:

"Extracellular matrix regulation of brain plasticity in chronic pain"

The field of pain research has focused on intracellular mechanisms to regulate neuronal functions in pathological pain rather than modulation of the extracellular matrix (ECM). The ECM not only provides structural support but is also involved in the regulation of neuronal excitability, as well as synaptic and structural plasticity. Changes in neuronal activity via modulation of the ECM have been shown to play key roles in physiological processes such as memory formation and pathologies such as Alzheimer’s disease. In this seminar, we will highlight new insights into the role of the ECM in the generation and maintenance of chronic pain. The presentation will cover mechanisms of pain generation and regulation driven by the ECM in the spinal cord and supraspinal areas such as hippocampus. Finally, we will discuss the role of the ECM in regulating neuron-glia crosstalk and the ensuing brain plasticity observed in chronic pain conditions. The results presented at the seminar will delineate extracellular mechanisms of pain-related plasticity, thereby offering new therapeutic targets that could modulate already-established peripheral and central nervous system alterations in chronic pain.

Maral Tajerian PhD
Assistant Professor of Biology
Queens College, City University of New York