Jon Levine (neuroscientist)

Last updated
Jon D. Levine
Born
Jon David Levine
Alma mater University of Michigan
Yale University
University of California, San Francisco
Scientific career
Fields Neuroscience
Institutions University of California, San Francisco
Thesis Neural Control of Flight in Wild Type and Mutant Drosophila Melanogaster  (1972)
Notable students Fabrizio Benedetti

Jon David Levine is an American neuroscientist known for his research on pain and analgesia, particularly in the field of placebo studies. [1] He is a professor of Medicine, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, and Neuroscience at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

Contents

Biography

Levine received his bachelor's degree in biophysics from the University of Michigan in 1966, a PhD in neuroscience from Yale University in 1972, and an MD degree from UCSF in 1978. He subsequently trained under Jack Stobo and Henry Bourne. He joined the UCSF faculty in 1987, and has been a professor of Medicine, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, and Neuroscience there since 1993. [1] [2]

Research

Levine's research focuses on pain and analgesia, such as the mechanism of the placebo effect in relieving pain. In 1978, he published an influential study showing that placebo analgesia could be blocked by the opioid antagonist naloxone. [3] [4] According to Fabrizio Benedetti (one of Levine's students), [5] this study represents the point when "the biology of placebo was born". [6] He has also published research showing that kappa agonist painkillers are more effective for women than for men. [7] [8] [9] He has also conducted studies on rats with experimentally induced arthritis, showing that beta-2 antagonists can reduce joint damage in these rats. This work has also shown that these antagonists also block receptors on cells that allow noradrenalin to enter them. [10] In addition, he has researched the role of inflammation in arthritis, which, he has found, can be either positive or negative. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ketamine</span> Dissociative medication

Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic used medically for induction and maintenance of anesthesia. It is also used as a treatment for depression, a pain management tool, and as a recreational drug. Ketamine is a novel compound that was derived from phencyclidine in 1962, in pursuit of a safer anesthetic with fewer hallucinogenic effects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Placebo</span> Substance or treatment of no therapeutic value

A placebo can be roughly defined as a sham medical treatment. Common placebos include inert tablets, inert injections, sham surgery, and other procedures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Toronto Faculty of Dentistry</span>

The University of Toronto Faculty of Dentistry is a dental school located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the ten dental schools in Canada. It is the largest dental school in Canada with a range of undergraduate and graduate level programs with a total enrolment in the range of 560. The faculty is located at the heart of Downtown Toronto's Discovery District, a neighbourhood with a high concentration of hospitals and research institutes, just south of the University of Toronto's St. George campus. In 2014, the Faculty of Dentistry joined the Toronto Addis Ababa Academic Collaboration (TAAAC), providing support in building capacity for oral health in Ethiopia by creating collaborative teaching opportunities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Methylsulfonylmethane</span> Chemical compound

Dimethyl sulfone (DMSO2) is an organosulfur compound with the formula (CH3)2SO2. It is also known by several other names including methyl sulfone and (especially in alternative medicine) methylsulfonylmethane (MSM). This colorless solid features the sulfonyl functional group and is the simplest of the sulfones. It is relatively inert chemically and is able to resist decomposition at elevated temperatures. It occurs naturally in some primitive plants, is present in small amounts in many foods and beverages, and is marketed (under the MSM name) as a dietary supplement. It is sometimes used as a cutting agent for illicitly manufactured methamphetamine. It is also commonly found in the atmosphere above marine areas, where it is used as a carbon source by the airborne bacteria Afipia. Oxidation of dimethyl sulfoxide produces the sulfone, both under laboratory conditions and metabolically.

A number of professional degrees in dentistry are offered by dental schools in various countries around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diflunisal</span> Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID), Used as an analgesic & anti inflammatory

Diflunisal is a salicylic acid derivative with analgesic and anti-inflammatory activity. It was developed by Merck Sharp & Dohme in 1971, as MK647, after showing promise in a research project studying more potent chemical analogs of aspirin. It was first sold under the brand name Dolobid, marketed by Merck & Co., but generic versions are now widely available. It is classed as a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) and is available in 250 mg and 500 mg tablets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Methylnaltrexone</span> Medication in the treatment for Opioid-Induced Constipation

Methylnaltrexone, used in form of methylnaltrexone bromide, is a medication that acts as a peripherally acting μ-opioid receptor antagonist that acts to reverse some of the side effects of opioid drugs such as constipation without significantly affecting pain relief or precipitating withdrawals. Because MNTX is a quaternary ammonium cation, it cannot cross the blood–brain barrier, and so has antagonist effects throughout the body, counteracting effects such as itching and constipation, but without affecting opioid effects in the brain such as pain relief. However, since a significant fraction of opioid analgesia can be mediated by opioid receptors on peripheral sensory neurons, particularly in inflammatory conditions such as arthritis, traumatic or surgical pain, MNTX may increase pain under such circumstances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tolmetin</span> Chemical compound

Tolmetin is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) of the heterocyclic acetic acid derivative class. It is used primarily to reduce hormones that cause pain, swelling, tenderness, and stiffness in conditions such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, including juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. In the United States it is marketed as Tolectin and comes as a tablet or capsule.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Proglumide</span> Chemical compound

Proglumide (Milid) is a drug that inhibits gastrointestinal motility and reduces gastric secretions. It acts as a cholecystokinin antagonist, which blocks both the CCKA and CCKB subtypes. It was used mainly in the treatment of stomach ulcers, although it has now been largely replaced by newer drugs for this application.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Columbia University College of Dental Medicine</span>

The Columbia University College of Dental Medicine, often abbreviated CDM, is one of the twenty graduate and professional schools of Columbia University. It is located at 630 West 168th Street in Manhattan, New York City. According to American Dental Education Association, CDM is one of the most selective dental schools in the United States based on average DAT score, GPA, and acceptance rate. In 2014, 2,029 people applied for 80 positions in its entering class. The median undergraduate GPA and average DAT score for successful applicants in 2020 were 3.62 and 22.8, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CI-988</span> Chemical compound

CI-988 (PD-134,308) is a drug which acts as a cholecystokinin antagonist, selective for the CCKB subtype. In animal studies it showed anxiolytic effects and potentiated the analgesic action of both morphine and endogenous opioid peptides, as well as preventing the development of tolerance to opioids and reducing symptoms of withdrawal. Consequently, it was hoped that it might have clinical applications for the treatment of pain and anxiety in humans, but trial results were disappointing with only minimal therapeutic effects observed even at high doses. The reason for the failure of CI-988 and other CCKB antagonists in humans despite their apparent promise in pre-clinical animal studies is unclear, although poor pharmacokinetic properties of the currently available drugs are a possible explanation, and CCKB antagonists are still being researched for possible uses as adjuvants to boost the activity of other drugs.

Clifford J. Woolf is professor of neurology and neurobiology at Harvard Medical School and director of the F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center at Boston Children’s Hospital. He has added greatly to the understanding of pain.

Fabrizio Benedetti is professor of physiology and neuroscience at the University of Turin Medical School in Turin, Italy and a researcher in the field of placebo studies. He is known for his research into the placebo and nocebo effects.

Claus Lamm is a Professor of Biological Psychology and the head of the Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit at the Faculty of Psychology of the University of Vienna. His research focuses on the psychological and biological mechanisms underlying social cognition, affect, and behavior. His main research interest are the neural underpinnings of empathy, to whose understanding he has made pioneering contributions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rüdiger Emshoff</span> German oral and maxillofacial surgeon and associate professor

Rüdiger Emshoff is a German oral and maxillofacial surgeon and associate professor at the Medical University of Innsbruck, where he is head of the Orofacial Pain and Temporomandibular Disorder Unit. Emshoff is known for his work in the field of chronic orofacial pain management with a focus on the development of non-invasive and minimally-invasive methods in the diagnosis and treatment of temporomandibular joint dysfunction.

Placebo analgesia occurs when the administration of placebos leads to pain relief. Because placebos by definition lack active ingredients, the effect of placebo analgesia is considered to result from the patient's belief that they are receiving an analgesic drug or other medical intervention. It has been shown that, in some cases, the endogenous opioid system is critical for mediating placebo analgesia, as evidenced by the ability of such analgesia to be reduced by the opioid antagonist naloxone. However, it is also possible for placebo analgesia to be mediated by non-opioid mechanisms, in which case it would not be affected by naloxone. Other research has indicated that the human spinal cord, prefrontal cortex, and rostral anterior cingulate cortex also play a role in placebo analgesia.

Jeffrey S. Mogil, FCAHS, FRSC is a Canadian neuroscientist and the E.P. Taylor Professor of Pain Studies and Canada Research Chair in the Genetics of Pain at McGill University. He is known for his work in the genetics of pain, for being among the first scientists to demonstrate sex differences in pain perception, and for identifying previously unknown factors and confounds that affect the integrity of contemporary pain research. He has an h-index of 90.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howard Fields (neuroscientist)</span> American academic (born 1939)

Howard Lincoln Fields is an American neuroscientist and clinical neurologist with expertise in pain and in opioid pharmacology. He is currently professor of neurology and physiology emeritus at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Coulthard</span> British Scientist and Dentist

Paul Coulthard, BDS, MFGDP(UK), MDS, FDSRCS(Eng), FDSRCS(OS), PhD, FDSRCPS(Glas), FFDTRCS(Ed), FDSRCS(Ed), FCGDent is a British Academic Surgeon and Scientist.

References

  1. 1 2 "EPS 2013 Faculty". europeanpainschool.eu. Retrieved 2017-07-17.
  2. "John Levine Biography" (PDF).
  3. Levine, JD; Gordon, NC; Fields, HL (23 September 1978). "The mechanism of placebo analgesia". Lancet. 2 (8091): 654–7. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(78)92762-9. PMID   80579. S2CID   45403755.
  4. Brody, Jane E. (1979-04-03). "Placebos Work, but Survey Shows Widespread Misuse". The New York Times. Retrieved 2017-07-17.
  5. Specter, Michael (12 December 2011). "The Power of Nothing". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2017-07-17.
  6. Marchant, Jo (2016-07-14). "Placebos: Honest fakery". Nature. 535 (7611): S14–S15. Bibcode:2016Natur.535S..14M. doi: 10.1038/535S14a . PMID   27410526.
  7. Angier, Natalie (10 November 1996). "Yours, Mine And Ows". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2017-07-17.
  8. Angier, Natalie (2003-09-22). "Tough Guys, Or Big Babies? How Real Men Deal With Pain". The New York Times. Retrieved 2017-07-17.
  9. Melton, Lisa (19 January 2002). "His pain, her pain". New Scientist. Retrieved 2017-07-17.
  10. Kotulak, Ronald (9 October 1988). "The Mouths Of Babes". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2017-07-17.
  11. Wasowicz, Linda (22 February 1994). "Findings may lead to non-toxic arthritis drugs". UPI. Retrieved 2017-07-17.