Basic  Science | Translational  Research | Clinical  Research

Individual patient sensitivity to pain and analgesia
Research endeavors focus on the discovery and validation of subject-specific attributes that determine vulnerability for greater than average impact of pain in terms of sensory, affective, endocrine and autonomic functions. Understanding of the biological response patterns that determine worst outcomes associated with suffering persistent pain are highly desirable. If known, subjects at risk could be identified and treatment targets for reducing subject-specific vulnerability be devised.
Christian Stohler

Neonatal analgesic mechanisms
Gustatory and orotactile stimulation in neonates access endogenous analgesic systems and lead to pain relieving and calming effects. These effects appear mediated by brain stem descending pathways involving opioid and monoaminergic systems. Understanding these mechanisms will lead to new analgesic strategies in newborns.
Ronald Dubner, Ke Ren

Neuroimaging pain
Multiple parallel sites in the cerebrum are activated by pain and help define the sensory, attentional, motivational and cognitive components of the experience. Functional neuroimaging of the brain is now being used as a physiological index of the experience of pain. Such imaging identifies aberrant brain functioning that occurs in pathological conditions of persistent pain and indicates individual differences in the response to analgesics. There are variations in the brain’s response to painful events that are related to the sex and the hormonal status of the individual. The future holds promise for targeting treatment based on imaging of the brain during pain and analgesia.
Joel Greenspan, Rao Gullapalli