 | Vanessa C.Z. Anseloni,
Psy.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Biomedical Sciences
Dental School
410-706-3673
vanse001@umaryland.edu
|
ResearchMy research focus is on understanding the neurobiology of neonatal pain. Persistent pain is a grave problem in preterm, newborn and young infants. Neonates and young infants exhibit increased pain sensitivity. However, guidelines for pain management in neonates are still unclear, due to several factors such as (1) lack of knowledge on the neonatal system; and (2) the risk of side effects of the available anesthetics, such as respiratory depression, apnea, and hypotension.
The importance of pain management in neonates is increased. Recent reports pointed out potential long-term effects that may impact the development of neuronal circuitry and its consequent cognitive and emotional alterations in adulthood. Findings of major importance for pain management show that gustatory and orotactile information trigger analgesic and calming effects in neonatal rats and humans. Gustatory-induced analgesia is a remarkable phenomenon that develops in seconds and lasts for minutes. Recent findings demonstrated that microlitter volumes of sucrose induce analgesia, which is age-dependent and opioid-mediated.
In collaboration with Drs. Dubner, Ren, Ennis, and Lidow, I have been investigating:
(1) the underlying mechanisms of gustatory- and orotactile-induced analgesia in neonates.
(2) the long-term effects of neonatal tissue injury in neonates.
Lab TechniquesAnatomical, Pharmacological and Behavioral techniques are routinely performed in the lab.
Publications1- Anseloni VC, Ren K, Dubner R, Ennis M. (2005). A Brainstem Substrate for Analgesia Elicited by Intraoral Sucrose. Neuroscience - In Press.
2- Anseloni VC, He F, Novikova SI, Turnbach-Robbins M, Lidow IA, Ennis M, Lidow MS (2005). Alterations in stress-associated behaviors and neurochemical markers in adult rats after neonatal short-lasting local inflammatory insult. Neuroscience. - In press.
3- Anseloni VC, Ren K, Dubner R, Ennis M. (2004). Ontogeny of analgesia elicited by non-nutritive suckling in acute and chronic pain rat models.Pain. 109(3):507-13.
4- Ren K, Anseloni VC, Zou S-P, Wade EB, Novikova SI, Ennis M, Traub R J, Gold MS, Dubner R and Lidow M. S (2004). Characterization of basal and re-inflammation-associated long-term alteration in pain responsivity following short-lasting neonatal local inflamatory insult. Pain. 110(3):588-96.
5- Anseloni VC, Ennis M, Lidow MS (2003). Optimization of the mechanical nociceptive threshold testing with Randall-Selitto analgesy meter revisited. Neuroscience Methods. 131:93-7.
6- Anseloni VC, Weng HR, Terayama R, Letizia D, Davis BJ, Ren K, Dubner R, Ennis M (2002). Age-Dependency Elicited by Intraoral Sucrose in Acute and Persistent Pain Models. Pain. 97(1-2):93-103.
Personal HistoryBack to All Faculty |