Pain Research Theme: Sleep and Circadian Rhythms
Sleep and pain share a complex relationship. Not only does pain disturbs sleep and poor sleep worsens pain, but different sleep stages may play a key role in shaping pain information processing. The physiology of the pain system, and the manifestations of different types of chronic pain, often change over the course of the day or night, and so the link between pain and sleep and circadian rhythms may help understand and design new approaches to manage chronic pain. More fundamentally, the relationship between consciousness and pain lies at the heart of our understanding how anaesthetics work.
Examples of some of the ongoing research include:
- Circadian rhythmicity of nociceptor function
- Fundamental mechanisms of behavioural homeostasis linking pain and sleep
- Incorporating circadian changes in the design of deep brain stimulation devices
- Clinical trials of cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia in chronic pain disorders
- Brain imaging during anaesthesia
Oxford researchers working within this theme:
- Zameel Cader, Professor of Neuroscience and Neurology, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences
- Tim Denison, Royal Academy of Engineering Chair in Emerging Technologies, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Department of Engineering Science
- Ben Seymour, Professor of Clinical Neuroscience, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences
- Katie Warnaby, Senior Research Scientist, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences