Allan I. Basbaum

The paper identifies TAAR1 agonists with antipsychotic-like effects through computational screening and experimental validation, showing improved potency and reduced side effects in a schizophrenia model.

This study systematically evaluates the effectiveness of random small perturbations in ligand optimization, finding 11.2% of analogs improved potency by ≥10-fold but often had worse pharmacokinetics.

This paper develops a machine learning-based behavioral phenotyping approach to quantify functional recovery in mice with tibia fractures, finding that pin stabilization improves recovery and that recovery patterns vary over time.

The paper shows that nitrous oxide increases anterior cingulate cortex activity in mice, suggesting this activity reflects pain affect even under anesthesia.

This paper introduces a novel mouse model of central post-stroke pain (CPSP) using photothrombotic ischemia in the thalamus, showing persistent facial grimace pain and correlating microglial activation with pain severity.

This study identifies meningeal regulatory T cells (mTregs) expressing enkephalin that modulate mechanical pain sensitivity in female mice via a sex hormone-dependent opioid receptor mechanism.

The paper screens 14.6 million virtual isoquinuclidines against opioid receptors to identify dual antagonists-inverse agonists with reduced withdrawal effects compared to naloxone.

This study develops a method to image the spinal cord in awake, behaving mice over long periods, enabling monitoring of neural activity and behavior.

The paper shows that overexpression of tetracycline transactivator in keratinocytes causes neuropathic itch in mice, which can be reversed by inhibiting Gi signaling or ablating TRPV1 neurons.

The paper identifies molecularly diverse spinal and trigeminal projection neurons involved in pain and itch, revealing distinct subsets and their functional roles.

The paper identifies a new population of CGRP-expressing interneurons in the spinal cord dorsal horn that contribute to mechanical hypersensitivity after nerve injury.

This study identifies a consistent neural signature of acute pain in healthy volunteers through a large-scale fMRI meta-analysis, highlighting a core set of brain regions involved in pain processing.