[19] The discovery that the protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is involved in the neuroimmune interactions underlying chronic pain is listed as one of the milestones in Canadian Health Research by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
[23] Another study, published in the journal Brain in 2013[24] further highlighted the importance of the KCC2 protein in neuropathic pain, as blocking this protein replicated the effect of nerve injury and reduced the threshold for transmission of painful stimuli, a hallmark of allodynia.
[23][27] Yves De Koninck's work showing how a dysregulation of chloride ion transport is involved in chronic pain and other brain disorders, and the discovery of a compound that can act therapeutically for these disorders was selected as one of the breakthroughs of the year by Le Soleil newspaper.
[28] In 2014, a study published in Nature Neuroscience showed that pain hypersensitivity could be reversed after being reactivated, in a process similar to memory reconsolidation.
[32][33] Work done by Cyril Bories, in the De Koninck laboratory, revealed neurobiological differences in the balance of excitatory and inhibitory signals in the brains of aging rats that could be correlated to alterations in cognitive functions.