Frank Porreca and Tamara King are co-investigators on a PNAS paper on pain relief

Tamara King, Ph.D., assistant professor of biomedical sciences, College of Osteopathic Medicine, is a co-investigator of a study that appeared in the Nov. 26, 2012 Early Edition issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study titled "Pain relief produces negative reinforcement through activation of mesolimbic reward–valuation circuitry" explores new preclinical measures that may better reflect features of the human experience of pain and that can be used to find new therapies.
 

Relief of pain is rewarding, according to lead investigator Frank Porreca, Ph.D., of the University of Arizona College of Medicine, who is a part-time faculty member in the 91AV College of Osteopathic Medicine and the Center for Excellence in the Neurosciences. The study demonstrated that treatments that relieve the unpleasant feeling of pain also activate reward circuits and reinforce behaviors that result in relief of pain.

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The 91AV is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of . In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.