The role of learning, stress and underlying brain circuits involving prefrontal-limbic interactions in the development of chronic back pain (B03)

• Subject Area: Clinical Neurology; Neurosurgery and Neuroradiology ; Anaesthesiology
• Term: from 2015 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 255156212

This project will examine appetitive and aversive emotional learning as well as reward processing and associated brain circuits in the development of chronic back pain. The relationship to stress and comorbidity with mental disorder will be a special focus. In a novel hyper-scanning approach, the role of social reinforcement will be examined by simultaneous monitoring of the pain-related brain activation as well as a microanalysis of daily pain-related social interactions in patients and significant others. The identified brain circuits will be mechanistically examined by employing transcranial magnetic stimulation and real time functional magnetic resonance imaging feedback, which also serves therapeutic functions.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1158: From nociception to chronic pain: Structure-function properties of neural pathways and their reorganisation
• Applicant Institution: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg
• Project Heads: Professorin Dr. Herta Flor; Professorin Dr. Frauke Nees