Pain is a subjective sensory and emotional experience that is influenced by a range of internal and external factors, including cognitive, emotional, and cultural elements. How a potentially painful stimulus is perceived and leads to the painful experience is a complex process. Our research aims to understand how the experience of pain is encoded in different brain circuits and the underlying plastic changes in chronic pathological pain.
To achieve this, we utilize in vivo techniqus to monitor and manipulate neuronal activity in rodents while they perform various pain-related behaviors. We apply imaging and signal analysis tools to assess how neuronal networks represent the variables of the pain experience. This way we aim to gain insights into the mechanisms of pain perception and the development of chronic pain conditions.