scope:

Preface

The invitation to assemble a book on methodology in pain research proffered by my longtime colleagues, Sid Simon and Miguel Nicolelis, was initially received with considerable uncertainty and hesitation. "Pain" encompasses a rather vast field of research and is hardly a subject that could be reduced to a few formulaic chapters describing laboratory protocols ranging from surgical techniques to automated molecular biology, each of which could encompass an entire volume and still prove inadequate for the needs of investigators seeking methodological guidance in this field of endeavor. Discussions with several friends whose research interests are deeply committed to studying pain persuaded me to recognize that this is no longer an era of publishing lab cookbooks that would be largely out of date by the time they emerge from the printing press. Besides, we are now in an epoch in which new technologies are being developed at a terrifying pace in such areas as high throughput methods, chemical genomics, microarray applications, genotyping, and proteomics. The modern investigator keeps current on such rapidly advancing subjects via the World Wide Web, and protocols generally are supplied by vendors of apparatus and reagents.

But pain research, despite its vastness, is something quite different and special; in part because of its breadth, but largely because it touches upon a subjective report in humans that is poorly understood and yet of fundamental importance and interest to everyone. Pain remains the singular most common complaint of patients worldwide, and this is followed by the next most prevalent affliction - the related phenomenon of itch. Yet pain has not reached the status of a targeted "disease;" it is clearly part of ordinary human experience. It stands apart from other sensations by often being dissociated from a distinctive stimulus condition; i.e., pain can be elicited by apparently innocuous stimuli in pathology or when applied to previously injured tissues. Thus, pain can be described pragmatically as a response to a variety of stimuli and contextual circumstances. Unlike other sensations, it can be altered significantly by widely known drugs, many of which are "controlled substances," imposing serious societal problems and consequent encumbrances for laboratory study. Finally, it should be emphasized that specific nerve fibers, now called "nociceptors," were disavowed explicitly over much of the last few decades. Now that laboratory experiments can reveal and enable investigators to parse stimulus and response variables, the field has attracted profoundly expanded interest.

Many of the relevant methods are employed in other areas of neuroscience research and some of the specific techniques are covered in several excellent monographs in the CRC Press series joined by this volume. We have attempted here to select topics and authors to meet the needs of investigators seeking guidance on the "how" and the "means" for studying the idiosyncratic features of pain research. Major areas of contemporary efforts are outlined and explained, and sources are provided for print and digital access to requisite details for designing and performing experiments. The complex ethical and political problems arising from studying pain in animals and in human subjects are alluded to only briefly, in the introductory chapter. Such issues are obviously relevant and extremely important, but we have evaded the thornier facets because they cannot be cast easily aside with brief commentary. One can only hope that the study of a problem that offers the promise of relieving human suffering is judged as sufficiently worthy to justify intelligent use of animals models (largely "manufactured" (man-made) mice with manipulated genes).

The authors have been selected as recognized experts representing much of the cutting edge of current methodology. Selecting the topics to be represented proved more difficult and in attempting to round out the expanse of appropriate coverage, the chapter authors have been remarkably thoughtful, cooperative, and prompt, rendering the task of producing a timely volume a tolerable and achievable goal. They get special thanks for responding to editorial comments, suggestions, and criticisms with cheer, tolerance, and promptness.

The editor is much indebted to various colleagues, too numerous to list individually, for suggestions and feedback. The editors of this series were persuasive in fostering a pragmatic approach and time schedule as well as specific advice. Special thanks go to Sid Simon of Duke University and Barbara Norwitz of CRC Press for the "hand-holding" that was needed periodically and tendered with thoughtfulness and sensitivity. Expert assistance with literature searches and various mundane editorial tasks was gratefully received from Shauna Mulvihill and Howard Kim at UCLA. Special acknowledgement belongs to the several people at CRC Press who guided this book into print and gracefully endured my tormenting commentaries about the extraordinary election debacle and the young Cuban refugee who dominated the news in South Florida last year. Barbara Norwitz, with the able assistance of Tiffany Lane, counseled and nurtured the editorial process with comfortable grace. Suzanne Lassandro deserves special thanks for expert and efficient handling of production. The copy editing and crucial final stages were gently guided with skill, excellence, and warm spirits by Mimi Williams, rendering the editorial task remarkably painless, perhaps in recognition of what pain research is all about - or should be. The attractive cover was designed by Dawn Boyd, and last but not least, the cheering section was provided by my family and especially my wife, Ginny.