The main research interest of this laboratory at The University of Texas Medical Branch is the anatomical organization and plasticity of sensory and autonomic systems in the vertebrate spinal cord in normal and diseased state.
Studies in the past include anatomical organization of fine primary afferent fibers in the spinal cord and organization and plasticity of various synaptic inputs to the sacral parasympathetic preganglionic neurons during normal development and following spinal cord transection. Retrograde and anterograde labeling of neurons for cell tracing, immunohistochemistry, light and electron microscopy, and quantitative stereological method have been used as techniques for these studies. These anatomical studies have been the key to the understanding of the involvement of various neuroactive substances in regulation of autonomic functions and pain.
Ph.D., Loyola University,Chicago, IL, 1978 Associate Member, Marine Biomedical Institute Professor, Anatomy & Neurosciences Cell Biology Graduate Program Neurosciences Graduate ProgramOur current activities are focused on the role of sympathetic nervous system in peripheral neuropathic pain. Although it has been well known clinically that sympathetic system is involved in modulation of pain which develops after peripheral nerve injury, the mechanisms of this sympathetically maintained pain (SMP) are not clearly understood, yet. Recent studies in our laboratory identified that abnormal sprouting of sympathetic fibers in the dorsal root ganglia may be one of the possible causes of pain following peripheral nerve injury. Work is now in progress to identify the mechanisms of SMP by using animal neuropathic models.
neurotrophic factors which cause abnormal sympathetic sprouting adrenergic receptors that are involved in development and maintenance of neuropathic pain individual differences in susceptibility to neuropathic pain following peripheral nerve injuries
These experiments are designed to advance our understanding of the mechanisms of sympathetically maintained pain and suggest treatments for neuropathic pain patients.
Park, M.J., Chung, K. And Chung, J.M. Immunocytochemical evidence for sprouting of ventral root afferents after neonatal sciatic neurectomy in the rat. Neurosci. Lett., 165:125-128, 1994.
Chung, K., Kim, H.J., Na, H.S., Park, M.J. and Chung, J.M. Abnormalities of sympathetic innervation in the area of an injured pripheral nerve in a rat model of neuropathic pain. Neurosci. Lett., 162:85- 88, 1993.
Chung, K., Lee, W.T., and Park, M.J. Spinal projections of pelvic visceral afferents of the rat: calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) immunohistochemical study. J. Comp. Neurol. 337:63-69, 1993.
Chung, K., Lee, W.T., and Park, M.J. Spinal projections of pelvic visceral afferents of the rat: Calcitonin generelted peptide (CGRP) immunohistochemical study. J. Comp. Neurol., 337:62-69, 1993.
Chung, K., Briner, R.P., Carlton, S.M. and Westlund, K.N. The immunohistochemical localization of seven different peptides in human spinal cord. J. Comp. Neurol. 280:158- 170, 1989.
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