Monoamines, Parkinson and Pain

Our team is particularly interested in the role of monoaminergic systems in the pathophysiology of non-motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease. We focus in particular on pain as a comorbidity of this neurodegenerative pathology but also as a pathology in its own. Indeed, chronic pain, whether or not associated with Parkinson's disease, is a major public health problem and current treatments have little or no effect in relieving patients. Our objective is to better understand the plasticity that takes place in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord but also in the basal ganglia in order to allow the emergence of new effective therapies. We use integrated approaches to study neural networks, combining classical electrophysiology techniques with the most recent optogenetic, chemogenetic and calcium imaging approaches. Finally, we are also developing new approaches to electrophysiologically recording neuronal activity in freely moving animals and deep brain stimulation to improve the analysis, understanding and treatment of these pathologies.