The interest of my research is to study the mechanisms and treatment of neuropathic pain. Neuropathic pain is one type of chronic pain and is a concern to millions of people. Peripheral neuropathic pain typically presents with symptoms of spontaneous pain, pain in response to normally innocuous stimuli (allodynia), and an exaggerated response to noxious stimuli (hyperalgesia). How chronic pain is maintained or persists has long been one of the central questions in the study of pain mechanisms. By using a combination of behavioral, anatomical, and electrophysiological approaches, we study kappa opioid receptor activation, glial activation/proliferation and intracellular MAPK signal transduction mechanisms in neuropathic pain. Our goal is to improve the treatment and understand the role of opioid receptors in modulating pain.