Psychobiological exploration and treatment of chronic pain – Endowed Professorship at RWTH Aachen University
It is estimated that up to 12 million people in Germany alone suffer from chronic pain. The chronification of pain is based on a complex and, as yet, poorly understood interplay of biological and psychological mechanisms. As a result, pain loses its function as an acute sensory warning signal, while the emotional component of the pain experience increasingly comes to the fore. The professorship for “Psychobiology of Chronic Pain” investigates the interactions between changes in the nervous system and psychological processes in order to better understand the development and maintenance of chronic pain. To this end, psychometric, behavioral, and physiological methods are combined and used both in the newly established pain laboratory and during functional magnetic resonance imaging. The goal is to derive innovative, mechanism-based therapeutic approaches. The current research focus is on the interaction between body and pain experience in neuropathic diseases and on changes in nociceptive processes in people with mental disorders.
Milestones
- Establishment of a working group and psychophysiological laboratory in the newly founded Scientific Center for Neuropathic Pain (SNCAACHEN).
- Integration of pain-related topics into teaching at the RWTH (degree programs: Human Medicine, M.Sc. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, B.Sc. Psychology)
- Acquisition of a DFG grant (3 years) for a research project on pain perception in people with mental disorders
Outlook 2025
- Start of a series of studies on the interaction of body and pain perception (three topics for medical dissertations already assigned)
- Opening symposium of the SCNAACHEN
- Participation in the International Congress on Neuropathic Pain (Berlin)
