# Cortical Signature and Modulation of Pain

> **NIH NIH R01** · MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY · 2021 · $792,562

## Abstract

Cortical Signature and Modulation of Pain
Abstract/Project Summary
Pain perception contains two main dimensions: the sensory-discriminative and the affective-cognitive
aspects. In this proposal, we will focus on the cortical signature and modulations of the sensory aspects of
pain using mouse models. Pain can be largely divided into inflammatory or neuropathic pain. A common
condition in both types of pain is mechanical allodynia: externally applied innocuous gentle touch becomes
painful. Paradoxically, pain elicits self-initiated recuperative behaviors such as rubbing and massaging of the
painful regions; and the mechanical stimuli from such self-generated behaviors generally relieve pain. The
neural circuit mechanisms underlying the opposite effects of external versus self-applied mechanical stimuli
in pain conditions remain poorly understood. Based on previous research as well as our preliminary studies,
we hypothesize that corticospinal projecting neurons from primary somatosensory (S1) cortex facilitate
mechanical hypersensitivity in pain models, whereas specific motor cortex projection neurons play key roles
in suppressing tactile allodynia in self-initiated recuperative behaviors (such as licking and wiping in mice).
We further hypothesize that the cortical pain signature can be read out from activity patterns of large
populations of individual S1 neurons by comparing their activities in the painful versus non-painful or pain-
relieved conditions. We will use a combination of viral-genetic labeling of specific cortical neurons, in vivo
calcium imaging and in vivo multi-electrode extracellular recording in freely behaving mice, optogenetics-
assisted slice physiology, opto/chemicogenetic manipulations, and computational analyses to test our
hypotheses.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10210309
- **Project number:** 5R01NS109947-05
- **Recipient organization:** MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
- **Principal Investigator:** ZHIGANG HE
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $792,562
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-30 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10210309

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10210309, Cortical Signature and Modulation of Pain (5R01NS109947-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10210309. Licensed CC0.

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