• the role of endogenous opioid peptides in physiology and pathology of the central and peripheral nervous system;
• the role of cannabinoids and endowanilloids in physiology and pathology of the central nervous system;
• investigation of new drugs in acute and chronic pain animals models; search of new pain therapy;
• pharmacological and biochemical analysis of neuroimmune interactions in acute and chronic nociceptive processes.

Behavioural:
- tests for measurement of nociceptive threshold (thermal and mechanical nociceptive stimuli) in rats and mice;
- tests for measurement of nociception processes in chronic pain e.g. inflammatory and neuropathic pain models; plethysmometry; joint inflammation; dynamic weight bearing;
- animal models of drug tolerance and dependence.

Stereotaxic brain and spinal cord surgery:
- implantation of chronic cannulae in different brain areas;
- intrathecal cannulae implantations in the spinal cord in rats.

Biochemical:
- measurement of gene expression engaged in opioid effectiveness (in situ hybridization, Western blot, quantitative real time RT-PCR; immunohistochemistry; computer image analysis (MCID)).

The Department cooperates with:

the Institute of Neuroscience, CNR, Rome (Italy)

- studies on the mechanism of long-term adaptations in the nervous system which lead to chronic pain;

the Institute of Biochemistry of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Szeged (Hungary)

- studies on biological characteristics of novel opioid receptor ligands;

the Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology of the Philipps University in Marburg (Germany)

- examining the role of spinal glia systems in pathological pain;

the Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry, Endocannabinoid Research Group, CNR, Naples (Italy)

- studies on nociceptive processes caused by activation of spinal CB1 and TRPV1 receptors in neuropathic pain.

PhD Students: