GABA[subscript A] plasticity during persistent inflammation in male and female rats

At its core, the brain is an integrator of sensory information. It undergoes dynamic changes depending on stimuli and environment, both of which directly affect sensory perception. In nociception, these changes manifest as descending inhibition or facilitation of pain. While either mode of modulation can be beneficial to an organism, pathological modulation can also occur. As a result, chronic pain can arise from a loss of descending inhibition, or a gain of descending facilitation of pain. By understanding the mechanisms that underlie chronic pain, we can begin to identify specific proteins that can be targeted for the development of novel therapeutics for chronic pain disorders. Equally important is to focus the studies on both male and female populations. To date, most studies use male subjects exclusively even in light of overwhelming data that chronic pain conditions manifest predominately in females.