How does the nervous system process sensory information from the female reproductive tract?
Pelvic pain is a common and debilitating condition in women. Indeed, pain arising from reproductive organs is one of the most frequent reasons women seek medical attention. Data from Australian studies place the reported prevalence of transient pelvic pain (usually dysmenorrhea) at ~80% in some cohorts, while the reported prevalence of chronic pelvic pain is ~ 12%. Pelvic pain is also a predictor for hysterectomy. Supporting data from the USA suggest that 10% of outpatient gynaecological visits are for intractable pelvic pain and it is the primary reason for 12% – 18% of hysterectomies. Thus, as well as causing suffering and distress pelvic pain results in significant health costs. One of the major obstacles to effective treatment is the lack of knowledge about the way the nervous system processes signals (both innocuous and noxious) originating in pelvic organs, especially those of the female reproductive tract (FRT). In this project we use in vivo intracellular patch-clamp recording
