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[Application of optogenetic technique in pain research.] [Article in Chinese]

LI Yi, HAO Han, ZHANG Hai-Lin, DU Xiao-Na^*

Department of Pharmacology, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang 050017, China

Abstract

Chronic pain represents a major clinical issue which so far is still in shortage of selective and effective treatment. Multiple components are involved in the pain processing, including peripheral, spinal and supraspinal levels of the nervous system. The core to fight the pain problem effectively is to have a good understanding of nociceptive mechanism and the neurobiology of pain perception. Optogenetic technique allows selective activation of subpopulation neurons and provides possibility for better understanding of complex pathway and modulation mechanism in nervous system. Here we review the researches to date that used optogenetic tools for studying pain pathway, and we also provide a brief overview of some new development in optogenetic techniques that may have great potentials in pain research.

Key words: Pain; optogenetics; nociceptor; dorsal root ganglion; spinal cord

Received: 2016-02-24　　Accepted: 2016-04-20

Corresponding author: 杜肖娜　　E-mail: duxiaona@hebmu.edu.cn

Citing This Article：

LI Yi, HAO Han, ZHANG Hai-Lin, DU Xiao-Na. [Application of optogenetic technique in pain research.] [Article in Chinese]. Acta Physiol Sin 2016; 68 (5): 655-660 (in Chinese with English abstract).