Ronald Melzack
Professor Emeritus
Stewart Biological Sciences
Bldg.
Room N8/5, 398-6084
ronald.melzack at mcgill.ca
Research Areas
Cognition-Language-Perception,
Behavioral
Neuroscience, Health
Research Summary
Prof. Melzack's research deals with pain mechanisms in humans and animals.
At the Montreal General Hospital, he and his colleagues are examining the
role of the sympathetic nervous system in chronic and acute pain. He is
also studying mechanisms involved in labour pain. A major current interest
is phantom limbs in amputees and paraplegics. In studies with animal subjects,
he and his students are investigating the analgesia produced by the injection
of local anesthetics in discrete areas of the brain. He and his students
are also examining the problem of development of tolerance to morphine.
Selected References
Melzack, R. (1992). Phantom limbs. Scientific American, 266, 120-126.
Melzack, R. (1990). The tragedy of needless pain. Scientific American,
262, 27-33.
Book
Melzack, R. and Wall, P.D. The challenge of Pain.
Penguin Books, Updated 2nd edition; reprinted 2008 with a new
Introduction.
Selected Articles
Chapter 6 - Pain and Stress: A New Perspective
Phantom
Limbs, the Self and the Brain - Canadian Psychology, 1989, 30:1-16.
Updated: June 1, 2009
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