Event Date:
August 11th 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Speaker: Andrew Buzza
Advisor: Prof. Moffitt
Title: Focal (direct-on-nerve) photobiomodulation may reduce pain via selective small fiber inhibition
Abstract: Chronic pain poses a high burden on the economic, physical, and mental well-being of millions of individuals. Development of complementary non-addictive approaches to pain relief is a significant need. One intriguing possibility is carefully-dosed photobiomodulation (PBM) at levels that appear to selectively inhibit small fiber action potential propagation (i.e., direct block of nociceptor/thermoceptor activity). The objective of the present study was to expand our understanding of direct-to-nerve PBM dosing by evaluation of a single application of PBM (using one of several different doses) in a behavioral model (spared nerve injury (SNI)) of chronic pain in the rat. Small fiber thermal (Hargreaves) and large fiber mechanical (von Frey) sensitivities were measured over a period of several days after a single application of PBM. Thermal changes at the nerve and adjacent muscle were measured for the doses we applied. These data provide important insight into PBM doses that effectively inhibit activity (presumably by selective small fiber block) using the direct-to-nerve application model, as well as insights into the thermal character of this approach. Ultimately, the data from this study may support the development of translational tools, such as implantable systems, that use inhibitory PBM to directly block nociceptor activity without impairing large fiber sensory and motor activity.