Summary
Chronic pain affects millions of Americans and remains difficult to treat without relying on opioid drugs. To develop more effective pain treatments, scientists need better tools to study pain signals in nerve cells. Recent research suggests that pain signaling occurs at receptors on the surface of neurons and can continue from inside the cell after surface receptors are internalized. Existing tools cannot directly study these internal processes. This CAREER project will develop tiny, light-responsive particles that can enter nerve cells and turn off pain-signaling receptors when illuminated w
