(Formerly IFCN-4)

[SCS Roster]

The Somatosensory and Chemosensory Systems [SCS] Study Section reviews research on the anatomy, physiology and psychophysics of chemosensory, pain, analgesia and somatosensory systems in animals and humans. In addition, drug mechanisms and effects are reviewed as they pertain to pain and analgesia. The emphasis is on integrative systems approaches to understanding normal sensory function; dysfunction; development, maturation and aging; recovery from injury; perceptual and sensory perturbations.

Specific areas covered by SCS:

• Chemosensation; olfaction, taste, vomeronasal and trigeminal chemosensory systems. Approaches include: neuroanatomy, physiology, neurobehavior, transduction, model systems, transmitters/receptors, perireceptor mechanisms, odorant binding proteins, plasticity [adaptive and maladaptive], peripheral afferents, sensory receptors, pharmacology, psychophysics, transduction, modulation, sensory discrimination, computational modeling, and correlates of nutrition.
  
  
• Pain and analgesia; anatomy, physiology of nociceptive pathways, imaging, pharmacology, critical molecules [e.g., receptors, neurotransmitters, transporters, channels, signaling molecules, growth factors], model systems, transduction, plasticity, genetics, development, psychophysiology, experimental therapeutics, sensitization, modulation, induction of gene expression, neurogenic inflammation, response to tissue and nerve injury, growth factors, cytokines, sympathetic nervous system, and neuropathies. Mediation and modulation of nociception; critical circuits [spinal and supraspinal] important in the mediation of pain responsiveness and analgesia; mechanisms of tolerance and sensitization to repeated noxious stimuli; and predisposing factors [genetic, developmental, and environmental] that may shape nociception and anti-nociception
  
  
• Touch and vibrotactile sensation; neurobiological aspects of somesthesis, including touch, temperature, and vibrotactile sensation, neurophysiology, peripheral afferents, pharmacology, psychophysics, transduction, modulation, and sensory discrimination, receptors, transmissions, plasticity [adaptive and maladaptive] and development

SCS has the following shared interests within the IFCN IRG:

• NNB is concerned with afferent [e.g., nociceptive, visceral, mechanoreceptive] control of autonomic nervous systems, while SCS focuses on the sensory function of such inputs.
  
  
• Rhythmicity in the sensitivity of somatosensory and chemical sensory systems may be assigned to SCS.  When the focus is on general processes underlying rhythmicity then the application could be assigned to BRS. 
  
  
• SCS is concerned with the role of sensory inputs in sensation and perception, while SMI is concerned with their roles in motor control.
  
  
• Studies intended to elucidate the neurobiological mechanisms underlying cognition are appropriate for COG. Studies intended to elucidate mechanisms of somatosensory functions are more appropriate for SCS.

SCS has the following shared interests outside the IFCN IRG: 

• With the Risk, Prevention and Health Behavior [RPHB] IRG: Studies focused on neural mechanisms of pain should be assigned to SCS. Applications that focus on individuals coping with pain would be assigned to the RPHB IRG.
  
  
• With the Biobehavioral and Behavioral Processes [BBBP] IRG: Studies focused on neural mechanisms underlying chemosensation, pain and analgesia, and somatosensation are appropriate for SCS. Studies focused on behavioral consequences are more appropriate for the BBBP IRG.
  
  
• With the Oncological Sciences [ONC] IRG: Studies focused on neural mechanisms of pain could be assigned to SCS. If the focus is on oncology and pain is a part of the spectrum of issues being considered, the application could be assigned to the ONC IRG.
  
  
• With the Musculoskeletal, Oral and Skin Sciences [MOSS] IRG: Studies focused on neural mechanisms of musculoskeletal and oral pain should be assigned to SCS. When the primary focus is on musculoskeletal and oral diseases, disorders, treatment or rehabilitation, the application would be assigned to the MOSS IRG.
  
  
• With the Renal and Urological Sciences [RUS] IRG: There is a shared interest in neuronal mechanisms of pain in conditions such as interstitial cystitis and prostatitis.  Applications focusing on the encoding or modulation of pain in the nervous system could be assigned to the SCS.  Applications on the central nervous system regulation of urological function where pain is not the central focus could be assigned to the RUS IRG.
  
  
• With the Surgical Sciences, Biomedical Imaging, and Bioengineering [SBIB] IRG: Studies focused on neural mechanisms of pain and analgesia should be assigned to SCS. Studies of pain and analgesia in the context of surgery or anesthesiology should be assigned to SBIB IRG.
  
  
• With the Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Neuroscience [MDCN] IRG: The MDCN IRG may be more appropriate for studies of signal transduction and related processes that occur within the context of a cell, with particular emphasis on cell electrophysiology, molecular biophysics, and neurochemical pathways. SCS may be more appropriate for studies in the context of integrated circuits, systems, and behavior. The MDCN IRG reviews applications where a sensory system is being used as a model to study principles of nervous system development, as contrasted with a focus on the sensory system itself, in which SCS could be more appropriate.
  
  
• With the Brain Disorders and Clinical Neuroscience [BDCN] IRG: SCS has shared interests with the BDCN IRG in the areas of sensory system injury, sensory neuropathy, and disorders that affect sensory systems. In general, applications reviewed by the BDCN IRG focus on diseases and pathological processes; however, applications focused on consequences of sensory system injury or neuropathy specific to chemosensation should be reviewed in SCS.