Xianguo Liu 刘先国

Xianguo Liu, Professor and Director, Pain Research Center of Sun Yat-sen University

Xian-Guo Liu graduated from Yanbian Medical College (Yanji) in 1982. He got his master degree in department of physiology in Bethune University of Medical Sciences (Changchun) in 1988, and got his doctor degree in institute of physiology of University Heidelberg (Germany) in 1995. He worked as a post-doctor fellow in University Heidelberg and in University Kiel from 1995-1999. From 1999 to present, he is professor and director of department of physiology in Zhongshan School of Medicine of Sun Yat-sen University (Guangzhou). He is the director of Pain Research Center of Sun Yat-sen University. His research is focused on mechanisms underlying synaptic plasticity in central nervous system. In recent years he has investigated how activated glial cells and over-expression of cytokines lead to chronic pain, memory deficits and depression. He discovered long-term potentiation (LTP) of C-fiber evoked field potentials in spinal dorsal horn, which is now considered as a synaptic model of pathological pain. He found that following peripheral nerve injury over-expression of TNF-leads to neuropathic pain by up-regulation of sodium channels in DRG neurons and enhancement of excitatory synaptic connection in spinal dorsal horn. TNF-also produces working memory deficit by dysfunction of hippocampus.