Abstract: Peripheral nerve injury can trigger neuropathic pain in adults but not in infants and neuropathic pain is rare before adolescence. Since it is known that the pain pathway is stablished before birth and pre-term infants have a pain response, it is suggested that the maturation of the pain pathway would be responsible for the differences observed after nerve injury in young and adult individuals. Indeed, we have observed that spinal microglia (the resident immune cell at the central nervous system) and macrophages (at the dorsal root ganglia) have a differential response. Thus, nerve injury triggers a protective anti-inflammatory response in young animals while there is a proinflammatory response in the adults which leads to hyperalgesia (exacerbated response to noxious stimulation) and allodynia (painful perception of an innocuous stimuli), known together as neuropathic pain.

Bio: Dr Vega-Avelaira is Professor assistant at the Department of Anatomy, Histology and Neurosciences (UAM). He has a degree in Biochemistry (Salamanca, 1997). Doctorate in Molecular Medicine (Universidad de Salamanca, 2002). Postdoctoral training at St. George Hospital Medical School (London, 2003-2005), University College London (London, 2005-2010) and at the University of Alcalá (2011-2012). He is the author of 11 original publications and co-author of a chapter of the book "Oxford Textbook of Paediatric Pain". His research works focus on the neurobiology of pain, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. He is currently studying changes in the cell populations of the thalamus in Parkinson's disease.

Fecha y Hora: jueves 26 de enero, 12:30 horas

Lugar: Seminario 4