George L. Wilcox, Ph.D.
Professor of Neuroscience & Pharmacology
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publications |
Research Interests
Dr. Wilcox and colleagues are engaged in research into the
spinal neurotransmission of pain. The research concerns two
families of neurotransmitters thought to mediate major components
of excitatory neurotransmission from primary afferent sensory
fibers to secondary projection neurons in spinal cord dorsa
hom. The excitatory amino acids (EAA), notably glutamate,
and substance P (SP), a member of the neurokinin peptide
family, have complementary mechanisms and time courses of
action. Whereas EAAs excite neurons by opening cation channels
within tens of milliseconds, neurokinins interact with receptors
coupled to intracellular second messenger systems that are
thought to affect cells for seconds to minutes. Both EAAs
and SP evoke the production of nitric oxide in the spinal
cord, and this substance appears to mediate some of their
neuronal effects.
A second major focus of work in the laboratory is the characterization
of several inhibitory neurotransmitters and their receptors,
which modulate this excitation. Enkephalin, serotonin, and
noradrenaline inhibit various components of the incoming
pain message in the dorsal hom, and the receptors activated
by these neurotransmitters can be manipulated with opiates
and adrenergic drugs for the production of analgesia in the
clinic. Studies of these excitatory and inhibitory processes
of the spinal cord are conducted using both in vivo and in
vitro electrophysiological methods, behavioral experiments
in rodents and molecular biological techniques. This broad
range of complementary approaches enables advances in the
understanding of synaptic transmission underlying the spinal
processing of pain information. |
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