Unit information: Neuroscience of Pain in 2014/15

Unit name	Neuroscience of Pain
Unit code	PHPH30017
Credit points	20
Level of study	H/6
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24)
Unit director	Professor. Tony Pickering
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	PHPH20009: Neurophysiology, PHPH20010: Developmental Physiology of the Specialized Cell
Co-requisites	Concepts and Skills Research Project or Grant Proposal
School/department	School of Physiology, Pharmacology & Neuroscience
Faculty	Faculty of Life Sciences

Description including Unit Aims

Students will study advanced topics in the neuroscience of pain through a series of seminars. The unit aims to develop an understanding of key concepts in the neuroscience of pain including:

• The roles of different classes of primary afferent neuron in acute and chronic pain
• The role of glial signalling in pain
• The role of spinal processing in pain perception
• The roles of central and descending pathways in modulating pain perception
• The clinical aspects of neuropathic pain and potential therapeutic approaches

Intended Learning Outcomes

• An in-depth knowledge and critical understanding of selected aspects of the neuroscience of pain, with an ability to keep up-to-date with recent developments in the field.
• The ability to gather information from the primary scientific literature and to critically evaluate the material and appraise competing theories.
• An appreciation of the clinical challenges associated with neuropathic pain

Teaching Information

Seminars

Assessment Information

The unit will be assessed through one 3-hour summative examination in May/June, which consists of two sections. In section A (50%), students will be expected to answer one essay question from a choice of 3, which will assess their knowledge and critical understanding of the field, and their ability to gather information from the primary scientific literature. In section B (50%), students will be expected to answer one multi-part compulsory question requiring the critical analysis of a scientific paper, which will assess their ability to critically evaluate material and apply their knowledge to experimental or clinical contexts. This is preceded by a formative paper review exercise in November using the same format.

Reading and References

Reviews and key references from the current scientific literature