Introduction - Peter Drummond, Ph.D.

[Peter Drummond, PhD]

hello everyone,

I work in a psychology department at Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia. One of my long-term research interests has been to study the neural control of facial blood flow, to try to clarify mechanisms of vascular disturbance in migraine and cluster headaches. I'm also interested in psychological states that trigger changes in facial blood flow (e.g., blushing with embarrassment or flushing with rage). One of my doctoral students is now putting this together to investigate changes in facial blood flow to a chemical stimulus (acetylcholine administered by iontophoresis) and to an emotional stimulus (giving a speech and singing) in patients with rosacea. We hope to find out more about the basis of facial flushing in rosacea, and the link between flushing and the burning pain that often develops in rosacea. This ties in with another research interest of mine, which is to investigate the mechanism of pain and autonomic disturbances in complex regional pain syndrome. Any suggestions on where this project could go next would be great!