Giulio Pasinetti MD, PhD
Customized Music-Based Sensory Stimulation for Mitigating Pain Perception via Glutamatergic Modulation
Abstract:
This presentation will describe how a customized music program can relieve pain in a mouse model of trigeminal neuralgia induced by chronic constrictive nerve injury (ION-CCI). We explored the effects of different sensory stimuli—standardized consonant music (CM), dissonant music (DM), and environmental noise (EN)—on pain perception. The CM program used calming rhythms to reduce anxiety, while the DM featured unpredictable rhythms as a negative control. Male mice with ION-CCI were exposed to these stimuli for 30 minutes daily for seven days. We assessed their pain responses using Von Frey mechanical sensitivity tests. Results showed significant analgesic effects in mice exposed to CM, with effects lasting two days after two weeks of exposure (F=0.001, ANOVA). Further analysis revealed a reduction in spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents (sEPSCs) in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) of mice receiving CM, indicating that increased glutamatergic activity in the ACC may influence pain perception. This suggests that CM can promote analgesia for chronic pain through specific neural pathways.
Biography:
Dr. Giulio Maria Pasinetti, The Saunders Family Chair and Professor of Neurology, received an M.D. from the Milan University School of Medicine and a Ph.D. from the University of Southern California. Milan. He is currently the Program Director of the NIH-funded MountSinai http://icahn.mssm.edu/research/molecular-neuroresilience Center for Molecular Integrative Neuroscience and the Chief of the Brain Institute Center of Excellence for Novel Approaches to Neurodiagnostic and Neurotherapeutics. He is also a Psychiatry, Neuroscience, Geriatrics, and Adult Development Professor. Dr. Pasinetti has received several academic awards, including the prestigious Zenith and Temple awards from the Alzheimer's Association. Most recently, Dr. Pasinetti was awarded ''The Faculty Council Award'' for academic excellence at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and "The Charles Dana Alliance for Brain Research Award" from Dana Foundation, recognizing productivity and worldwide leadership in his field of expertise, which further emphasizes his standing as an academic role model.