49 Considering that PLAY can promote the expression

of v

49 Considering that PLAY can promote the expression

of various neurotrophins like brain-derived neurotrophic factor,50 and insulin-like growth factor 1,32 it is to be expected that playful interactions, just like exercise, may have antidepressant effects, and the resulting neuroplasticities may reinforce better and longer-lasting psychotherapeutic benefits. Affective neuroscientific thinking suggests many other new avenues for medicinal developments since all primary-process Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical emotional systems seem to have unique neuropeptidergic controls.51 Summary: the promise of new therapeutic approaches In the above context, it would not only be of interest to explore novel psychotherapeutic approaches

that might specifically influence Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical endogenous neurochemical controls of the other affective networks of mammalian brains, but clinicians may seek to estimate the primary-process emotional strengths and weaknesses of clients so as to better envision the major emotional forces that may have become imbalanced in major forms of emotional distress. Of course, primary processes in humans can only be estimated through tertiary-process verbal reports. Although there are shortcomings in such approaches, we have developed the Affective Neuroscience Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical Personality Scales to provide a tool whereby clinicians may better estimate the primary-process

emotional traits in normal as well Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical as psychiatric patients.52 A better understanding of the emotional endophenotypes discussed here may help guide clinicians to deal more strategically with the raw and troublesome feelings Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical of their clients, and give them clearer explanations of the sources of their distress. This may be beneficial for many patients. The approach also provides new avenues, yet to be developed, that better recruit the personal affective resources of clients to promote healing. Therapists who can work effectively with the basic emotions – reframing and recontextualizing Phosphoprotein phosphatase hurtful memories so they can be reconsolidated in the context of positive feelings – may be able to promote more lasting therapeutic change than those that seek to remain more strictly at cognitive levels of interaction. This is not to minimize the selleck screening library ability of cognitive processes to reframe stressful life events and to regulate negative emotionality through the analysis of life options, but to suggest that more direct work with the nature of affects is a perspective that remains underdeveloped. In conclusion, affective neuroscience also has implications for the future development of animal models of psychiatric disorders. Currently preclinical models are rather deficient, as highlighted by Steven Hyman (see above).

All values were presented as mean and standard error The main ch

All values were presented as mean and standard error. The main chemical characteristics and phenolic compounds of organic and conventional grape juices were subjected to Student’s t-test (p ⩽ 0.05). Other results were subjected to an analysis of inhibitors variance PD98059 nmr (ANOVA) with Tukey’s post hoc test. The SPSS 17.0 software

package (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL) was used for all statistical analyzes. The results of the open field test showed that neither organic nor conventional grape juice altered the behavior parameters (latency for locomotion, total crossings, total rearings, grooming and fecal bolus) for any of the animals evaluated (Fig. 1). Furthermore, neither juice type was able to prevent the convulsant effects induced by PTZ (latency of seizure time, tonic-clonic seizure time, total seizure time, number of seizures and number of seizures reaching stage five on Racine’s scale) (Fig. 2). When compared to the saline group, organic and Trametinib research buy conventional grape juice treatments did not induce lipid or protein damage, nor did they increase nitric oxide content in the hippocampus, cerebellum or cerebral cortex. In addition, neither of the juices induced a decrease in the antioxidant enzymes SOD or CAT or in the sulfhydryl protein content of any of the tissues compared to the saline group (Table 3, Table 4 and Table 5). When compared

to the saline group, pentylenetetrazole treatment induced an increase in lipid peroxidation (TBARS), protein damage (carbonyl protein content) and nitric oxide levels in all brain tissues. In addition, SOD and CAT activities the and sulfhydryl protein were all reduced in the PTZ group for all of the tissues assayed (Table

3, Table 4 and Table 5). Treatment with organic or conventional grape juices attenuated the PTZ-induced oxidative damage to lipids and proteins and the increase in nitric oxide concentration in the hippocampus, cerebellum and cortex. In all tissues, the organic juice also inhibited the decrease in SOD and CAT activity induced by PTZ. Both juices prevented the reduction in sulfhydryl protein concentration that is typically induced by PTZ (Table 3, Table 4 and Table 5). Organic grape juice has a higher phenolic content compared to conventional juice (Table 2). Additionally, organic juice also shows higher concentrations of catechin, cyanidin, epicatechin, malvidin diglycoside, procyanidin B1 and resveratrol compared to conventional juice. The gallic acid and procianidin B2 concentrations were higher in conventional grape juice (Table 2). In the central nervous system (CNS), the disruption of the naturally existing balance between the concentrations of inhibitory and excitatory neurotransmitters is thought to be the main cause of convulsive episodes. GABA deficiency (inhibitory neurotransmission) and the stimulation and modification of either the density or sensitivity of different glutamate receptor subtypes (excitatory neurotransmission) are associated with epilepsy.

Imaging of coronary artery stenosis using the liposomal blood poo

Imaging of coronary artery stenosis using the liposomal blood pool contrast agent has been demonstrated in a sheep model. Complete mapping of the AZD2281 hepatic vasculature, including the arterial, venous, and portal circulation, has been demonstrated in

small and large animal models.31 32 Delayed-phase imaging (72 to 120 hours) has been used to characterize tumor vascular permeability.33 Preliminary studies in mice have demonstrated that the tumor uptake of liposomal contrast agents can facilitate differentiation of Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical malignant and benign lung nodules. Stratification of breast tumors has allowed us to identify those tumors that are treatable by PEGylated liposomal doxorubicin and those that are not likely to respond.33 34 For the first time ever, the existence of extratumoral blood vessels that exhibit vascular Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical permeability usually only attributed to intratumoral neovasculature has been demonstrated.32 Additionally, variants of this agent that target macrophages and highlight atherosclerotic plaques have also been recently demonstrated. The remainder of this paper, therefore, focuses on these capabilities of the liposomal blood pool agent. The processes used for the production of this agent Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical are exhaustively documented in previous

publications and are not reproduced here.31–33 We focus instead on the highlights of the imaging studies. Figure 1. Illustration of a liposomal blood Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical pool contrast agent. Whole-Body Vascular Imaging The pharmacokinetics and biodistribution of liposomal contrast agents have been studied in mice.31 32 Uniform and stable blood attenuation is obtained immediately after systemic administration of the liposomal contrast agent. The blood pool attenuation remains relatively uniform for several hours post administration, with attenuation decay gradually occurring over a period of several days. CT angiography studies performed in small and large animals demonstrated excellent visualization of the entire blood circulatory system using a single dose of liposomal contrast agent (Figure 2). Figure 2. 3D volume-rendered images demonstrating whole-body vasculature Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical in

a pig (A) and sheep (B) model obtained after administration of liposomal blood pool contrast agent. Cardiovascular Imaging in Large Animals Unlike humans, cardiovascular CT imaging in small animals remains a major challenge.35 Due to higher heart rates (300 to 600 beats per minute) and respiration only rates (80 to 120 per minute) in rodents, cardiorespiratory-gated scans typically take 8 to 10 minutes per cardiac phase cycle (~120 minutes for 12 cardiac phases). Stable and uniform opacification is required for this entire period, before gated imaging is feasible. The liposomal agent has enabled such studies. The uniform opacification of the cardiac chambers also facilitates determination of cardiac function parameters, thus enabling facile cardiac phenotyping in rodent models.

At the same time, given the unique obstacles to achieving global

At the same time, given the unique obstacles to achieving global STI control for most existing interventions, innovative biomedical solutions are also critical. Validating new rapid diagnostic tests for curable STIs, evaluating new drug regimens for gonorrhea, and testing new microbicides against STIs will be extremely valuable, but these interventions may not fully solve long-term barriers to STI control. Thus, continued advancement

of STI vaccines is crucial for sustainable global STI prevention and control. We report no conflicts of interest. Drs. Newman and Broutet are staff members of the World Health Organization. The authors alone are responsible for the views expressed in this article and they do not necessarily represent the decisions or policies of the World Health Organization. The findings and conclusions

of this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position AZD9291 price of the inhibitors Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The authors wish to thank Janet Petitpierre for her assistance with the figures. “
“Cost effective vaccination against sexually transmitted infections (STI) is available today in the form of hepatitis B [1] and human papilloma virus vaccination [2] and [3], but whether future vaccines can also be as cost effective will depend on a range of different factors. These factors include: (1) the cost of the disease; (2) the price of the vaccine; (3) the efficacy or effectiveness of the vaccine; (4) the population requiring immunization;

(5) the organization required HIF inhibitor to provide access to the vaccine; and (6) any alternative interventions against which vaccination has to be measured. STIs comprise very different organisms grouped according to their route of transmission, with great differences in clinical course and in distribution of infection and disease. These differences include the severity of disease, the duration of infection, the generation of naturally acquired immunity Thymidine kinase and pattern of spread, all of which play a role in determining how cost effective an STI vaccine could be. In deciding about the use of resources cost effectiveness analyses allow us to compare the merits of alternative interventions [4]. Models which include the transmission of infection also allow us to explore the potential impact of STI vaccines in different epidemiological contexts and for different vaccine characteristics [5] and [6]. In this paper, insights from modeling the impact of STI vaccination are discussed as a guide to thinking about the future development and delivery of STI vaccines. The influence of infection and vaccine characteristics on this impact are explored along with the potential design of programs. Finally, illustrative cost-utility analyses are provided for HSV-2 vaccination in the US. A summary of the major STIs, the diseases they cause, available treatments and relative prevalence is provided in Table 1[7].

5±16 8 U/mL) (17), yielding a dismal positive predictive value (P

5±16.8 U/mL) (17), yielding a dismal positive this website predictive value (PPV) of only 0.9%, although the sensitivity and specificity were 100 and 98.5% respectively. Satake et al. analyzed CA 19-9 serum levels in 12,840 asymptomatic and 8,706 individuals with symptoms suspicious for pancreatic cancer such as weight loss, epigastric pain

and jaundice. These authors identified only 4 pancreatic cancers (1 resectable) among 18 asymptomatic patients (0.2%) with an elevated CA 19-9 serum level. Among the 8,706 patients with symptoms suspicious Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical for pancreatic cancer, 198 patients (4.3%) had elevated CA 19-9 serum levels. Following extensive work up, 85 patients (1.8%) were found to have pancreatic cancer of which 28 patients (0.4%) were resectable (17). Similarly, Chang et al. have screened 5343 asymptomatic individuals

for pancreatic cancer, and identified Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical CA 19-9 serum level elevation (>37 U/mL) in 385 patients (7.2%) (18). Among this group only 2 patients (0.004%) had pancreatic cancer and their serum CA 19-9 levels were 88.4 U/mL and 46,885 U/mL respectively. The PPV of an elevated serum CA 19-9 level in the asymptomatic population in this study was only 0.5%. False positive Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical elevation of the CA 19-9 serum levels was noted in 325 patients (6.1%) and a total of 58 other cancers were identified (16). Table 1 Published studies evaluating the role of serum CA 19-9 level suggest that it has no utility as a screening Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical marker in asymptomatic individuals given its very low positive predictive value (0.5-0.9%). CA 19-9 serum level testing in symptomatic individuals … As evident from aforementioned studies, given the suboptimal sensitivity and poor predictive value of CA 19-9 serum levels and low prevalence of pancreatic cancer in the general population, routine serum CA 19-9 level testing has no utility as a screening tool in asymptomatic patients. Even Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical among patients with symptoms suspicious for pancreatic cancer, elevated CA 19-9 serum levels is a poor predictor of pancreatic cancer with a predictive value of 0.5-0.9%. Equally noted in all of the screening studies is that a significant

number of individuals with elevated CA 19-9 serum levels have actually harbored non-pancreatic neoplastic pathology which further undermines the applicability of serum CA 19-9 levels as a screening tool. Among patients who present with a pancreatic mass, elevated CA 19-9 serum levels yield a much higher predictive value Cediranib (AZD2171) for diagnosing pancreatic cancer. Tessler et al. studied 150 patients undergoing surgery for suspected pancreatic cancer without a preoperative tissue diagnosis. Multivariate analysis identified that a combination of weight loss >20 lbs, bilirubin >3 mg/dL, and CA 19-9 >37 U/mL provided an almost 100% specificity and positive predictive value for pancreatic cancer regardless of the extent of imaging abnormalities (19).

Contemporary studies of how the amygdala is activated by extreme

Contemporary studies of how the amygdala is activated by extreme experiences dovetail with the laboratory observation that “emotional memory may be

forever.”111 The accumulated body of research suggests that patients with PTSD suffer from impaired cortical control over subcortical areas responsible for learning, habituation, and stimulus discrimination. The concept of indelible subcortical emotional responses, Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical held in check to varying degrees by cortical and hippocampal activity, has led to the speculation that delaycd-onsct PTSD may be the expression of subcortically mediated emotional responses that escape cortical, and possibly hippocampal, inhibitory control.1-45, 112 The early neuroimaging studies of PTSD showed that, during exposure to a traumatic script, there was Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical decreased Broca’s area functioning and increased activation of the right hemisphere. This would imply that it is difficult for traumatized individuals to verbalize precisely what they are experiencing, particularly when they become emotionally aroused. They may experience physiological arousal and fragments of memories may be activated, but they often seem to be too hyperaroused or hypoarouscd to be able to “process” and communicate what they are experiencing. A relative decrease in left hemispheric

representation provides an explanation for why traumatic memories arc experienced Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical as timeless and ego-alien: the part of the brain necessary for generating sequences and for the cognitive analysis of experience is not functioning properly. Our research85 can be interpreted as showing that during activation of a traumatic memory, the brain is “having” its experience. The person may feel, see, or hear the sensory elements of the traumatic Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical experience, but he or she may be physiologically prevented

from being able to translate this experience into communicable language. When they are having their traumatic recall, victims may suffer from speechless terror in which they may be literally “out of touch with their feelings.” Physiologically, they may Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical respond as if they were being traumatized again. Particularly when victims experience depersonalization and derealization, they cannot “own” what is happening, and thus cannot take steps to do anything about it. In order to help traumatized individuals Z-VAD-FMK mouse process their traumatic memories, it is critical that they gain enough distance from their through sensory imprints and trauma-related emotions so that they can observe and analyze these sensations and emotions without becoming hyperaroused or engaging in avoidance maneuvers. The serotonin reuptake blockers seem to be able to accomplish exactly that. Studies in our laboratory have shown that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) can help PTSD patients gain emotional distance from traumatic stimuli and make sense of their traumatic intrusions.

31 Mania, hypomania, and major depression have been significantly

31 Mania, hypomania, and major depression have been significantly associated with exposure to steroids.32 PSEs due to anabolic androgen http://www.selleckchem.com/products/Y-27632.html steroids are mostly seen in abusive users. These PSEs relate to drug concentrations in a definite pattern. Hypomania Is correlated with anabolic androgen Intake and major depression follows Its withdrawal.31 In chronic users Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical of slow-liberation forms, lassitude or depression may be seen just before administration of the next dose. The abuse of anabolic androgen steroids seems prevalent among teenagers wishing to increase

muscular mass. It was found in subjects as young as 9 years old,209 with a possible peak at ages 15 and 16.210 In another study, with a sample of 12 000 American high-school students, a prevalence of 4% was found in young males.211 Steroid users often seek medical care for the acne

these medications Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical induce or exacerbate. If family members complain of aggressiveness and mood changes (which are less noticed by the users themselves), the clinician might suspect of anabolic androgen abuse, especially in teenagers of male sex. β-Adrenergic antagonists (β-blockers) Depression, nightmares, and sexual Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical dysfunction are commonly reported PSEs of β-blockers. Hallucinations have been attributed to propranolol.63,68 With oral administration, depression and agitation related to propranolol might be dose-dependent.69 Ophthalmic preparations of β-blockers may also induce these PSEs, eg, timolol.70 Withdrawal reactions Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical to β-blockers can occur even with ophthalmic presentations; cases of rebound tachycardia were reported after ophthalmic timolol interruption. It has long been recognized that β-blockers cause psychiatric and sexual side effects. However, this has become controversial, according to recent studies. In a placebo-controlled trial, the authors found no difference

between propranolol and placebo groups for the occurrence of depressive symptoms or sexual dysfunction.212 A later review stated that ”β-blockers have no significant increased risk of depressive symptoms and only small increased Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical risks of fatigue and sexual dysfunction.“213 Nevertheless, it could be that the risk of suicide increases in users of β-blockers.71 The conflicting results on β-blocker depression suggest all that some may improve depression (eg, pindolol), others may worsen it, and others may have little effect.214 Conclusion This review shows that drug-induced PSEs may occur with several medications prescribed in internal medicine and that these side effects might be overlooked. A PSE can be a stressful and traumatic life event for patients and their families. For example, a person without known psychiatric antecedents who develops a drug-induced psychosis might suffer sequelae from the fear of having lost their mind or from hospitalization in a psychiatric ward.

105,106 To assess brain regions that are sensitive to high levels

105,106 To assess brain regions that are sensitive to high levels of threat, the activation sites of the contrast of CS+ (ie, aversively conditioned) vs. CS(ie, neutral) of 34 aversive conditioning studies were reviewed. Although great emphasis is put on the involvement of the amygdala in the processing of threat, this summary revealed that several frontal activation sites were consistently reported, including middle frontal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, BMS-777607 datasheet anterior cingulate cortex, and anterior insula.89 This evaluation

thus suggests that processing high-threat items engages key nodes of the attentional network, suggesting that it consumes Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical processing resources. What are some of the neural substrates of the interactions between emotion and cognition? When items are high in threat, robust interactions between affective processing and executive functions are proposed to take place via several neural mechanisms. First, it is hypothesized that threat processing engages attentional/effortful control mechanisms in Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical several frontoparietal sites, Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical including lateral prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and parietal cortex.

The role of the anterior cingulate cortex may be particularly important because of its role in integrating inputs from multiple sources, including cognitive, affective and motivational inputs117 (Figure 5). In cognitive studies, the anterior cingulate has been suggested to be involved in conflict detection, error likelihood processing, and error monitoring, among other functions. Anterior cingulate

engagement during threat may impair executive function because shared resources required to prioritize threat processing are recruited. In other Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical words, anterior cingulate Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical sites engaged by high-threat are at the intersection of the esources needed for several executive functions (as indicated by the orange region in Figure 4). Notably, the anterior cingulate engagement includes the dorsal sector, in contrast to the idea that the dorsalanterior cingulate is involved in cognitive function, in opposition to the more rostral, “emotional” sector.118 Figure 5. Interactions between emotion and cognition. The anterior nsula and the anterior cingulate cortex are important sites nvolved in determining affective significance and value. In so doing, they are closely affiliated Sitaxentan with an extended set of regions, some … As discussed, the anterior insula is critical for interoception, which involves monitoring the sensations that are important for the integrity of the internal body state, and interacting with systems that are important for evaluating context, allocating attention, and planning actions.119 Threat, uncertainty, and risk are all potent factors that engage the anterior insula.120 Remarkably, the anterior insula also was found to be activated in most cognitive tasks for which Van Snellenberg and Wager121 had metaanalytic data.

A systematic review showed that resistance exercise alone reduced

A systematic review showed that resistance exercise alone reduced HbA1c by 0.3% but was not significantly different when compared to aerobic exercise (Irvine and Taylor 2009). Our study showed that, controlling Roxadustat mouse for exercise volume, duration, and intensity, aerobic exercise and inhibitors progressive resistance exercise had similar improvement. The degree of change in HbA1c seen in both groups in our study was similar to that seen with oral medications and diet (Irvine and Taylor 2009). Despite similar effects on body fat percentage, progressive resistance exercise resulted in a greater reduction in waist circumference than aerobic exercise – a finding in line with a previous study showing

that progressive resistance exercise reduced visceral and subcutaneous abdominal fat (Ibanez et al 2005). The different exercise physiology and mechanisms of action of progressive resistance exercise and aerobic exercise may have also played a role. Progressive

resistance exercise increases muscle strength CB-839 mw or fat free mass and mobilises visceral adipose tissue, thus enhancing insulin sensitivity (Tresierras and Balady 2009). Unfortunately, the greater reduction in waist circumference was not also associated with any additional benefit in terms of blood pressure or lipid profile, all of which are closely related parameters. A study on obese Japanese men with metabolic syndrome, which can be considered closest to our population, suggested that a reduction of at least 3 cm in waist circumference was required for any change in metabolic profile (Miyatake et al 2008). The average reduction observed for the progressive resistance exercise group in the present study was only about half of that, at 1.6 cm (SD 2.6). The effect of aerobic exercise on peak oxygen consumption all was significantly greater than that of progressive resistance exercise. Previous studies showed that resistance exercise can elicit modest improvement in peak oxygen consumption, by approximately 6% (ACSM 1998). The progressive resistance exercise

group in our study improved their peak oxygen consumption by approximately 14%, comparable to that observed in a previous 6-month study on progressive resistance exercise on cardiorespiratory fitness in elderly men and women (Vincent et al 2003). This can be attributed to increased lower limb strength (Vincent et al 2003). These improvements may be clinically important as physical activity in patients with chronic conditions can reduce mortality (Martinson et al 2001, Sigal et al 2006). The training duration of 8 weeks was brief compared to the 12-week regimens examined in earlier studies. The 8-week duration was chosen to minimise or avoid the influence of any medication change during the course of the trial.

In PD, DA depletion in target areas provokes progressive motor di

In PD, DA depletion in target areas provokes progressive motor disabilities, and cognitive and vegetative disturbances (Lin et al. 1981; Clifford et al. 1998; Fischer et al. 2005). PD is also characterized by nonmotor manifestations (NMM), which may precede or occur during the onset of motor disturbances (Capmatinib in vivo Pertovaara et al. 2004). One of the NMM in PD is pain (Cobacho et al. 2010; Goetz 2011; Ha and Jankovic 2012) and epidemiological studies have estimated its prevalence in PD to be 30–83% (Barceló et al.

2010; Wasner and Deuschl 2012). Preclinical studies using different paradigms have implicated basal ganglia in pain processes (Chudler and Dong 1995; Wood Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical 2006; Chudler and Lu 2008; Borsook 2012). For example, DA depletion in the striatum leads to an increase in neuropathic pain (Saadé et al. 1997). Conversely, an enhancement of DA

release by amphetamine infusion into the nucleus accumbens facilitates the inhibition of tonic Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical pain (Altier and Stewart 1999). Neuropathic pain is clinically characterized by spontaneous pain and evoked pain. It can result from the primary dysfunction of the peripheral nociceptive Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical and nonnociceptive nerves of the central nervous system (Rizvi et al. 1991). Unfortunately, the treatment of neuropathic pain is often unsatisfactory, mostly due to the limited efficacy of currently available drug therapies. Touch-evoked pain is a hallmark of allodynia, and is generally considered to result from the activation of large myelinated A-fibers, which normally convey nonnoxious mechanical stimulation (Campbell et al. 1988; Ochoa and Yarnitsky 1993; Koltzenburg et al. 1994; Sandkühler

2009). After nerve injury, tactile stimulation is able to evoke dynamic mechanical allodynia (DMA), which can be elicited by light moving Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical stimuli (i.e., stroking or light brushing) of the Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical skin (Woolf and Mannion 1999; Alvarez et al. 2009; Miraucourt et al. 2009). Air puffs or jets have been shown to activate preferentially low-threshold Aβ-fibers, constituting a useful tool for investigating DMA (Sandkühler 2009). The spinal cord is an important gateway through which peripheral pain signals are transmitted to the brain. Spinal sensitization is one of the main mechanisms underlying neuropathic pain (Woolf and Mannion 1999). Two markers were used, Casein kinase 1 namely protein kinase C (PKCγ) a stress sensor protein, and phosphorylated forms of ERK1/2, to demonstrate medullary dorsal horn (MDH) (equivalent of spinal dorsal horn) sensitization at both cellular and molecular levels. Within the superficial dorsal horn, PKCγ is restricted to a subpopulation of interneurons in the inner part of lamina II (IIi) (Malmberg et al. 1997; Polgár et al. 1999). Its activation is involved in hyperexcitability, persistent pain states, and the transition from short to long-term hyperexcitability (Malmberg et al. 1997; Martin et al. 1999; Miletic et al. 2000; Ohsawa et al. 2001; Wang et al.