Pain Research Theme: Brain and Cognition, Psychology and Mental Health
Pain is defined in terms of it subjectively perceived sense of acute or sustained bodily injury, and this is known to be shaped by many cognitive and psychological factors. This includes beliefs and expectations, the sense of control over pain, and factors such as acute stress. These are important as they give clues as to how the brain processes pain, how it shapes our behaviour and decision-making, the rules that govern the descending control of pain, and phenomena like the placebo and nocebo effect. This often exploits classical theories of learning and cognition, and draws broadly on domains of cognitive, computational and systems neuroscience.
Examples of some of the ongoing research include:
- The role of beliefs and expectations
- Computational mechanisms of pain learning, perception and decision making
- Mechanisms of endogenous pain control
- Pain in mental health disorders
Oxford researchers working within this theme:
- Ben Seymour, Professor of Clinical Neuroscience, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences
- Irene Tracey, Professor of Anaesthetic Neuroscience, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences
- Katie Warnaby, Senior Research Scientist, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences
- Katja Wiech, Associate Professor, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences
Related links: