Grant: Project Grant

Chronic pain affects millions of people worldwide, causing significant social and economic impacts. Despite this, the causes of chronic pain remain unclear, and finding effective treatments continues to be a challenge for clinicians. Traditionally, researchers have tried to understand chronic pain by studying peripheral nerves due to their link with injury. However, recent research has shown that the nature or the amount of tissue damage is not a good predictor of ongoing pain. Sometimes, people experience chronic pain without any obvious injury or disease. This has led scientists to explore other factors, particularly those in the brain, that might explain why some people develop chronic pain. Our understanding of how pain works has evolved to include the idea that our brain's predictions, expectations, and learning play a large role in how we experience pain. This suggests that chronic pain might be caused by learning processes in the brain, leading to persistent pain expectations that do not go away. However, this theory has not been thoroughly tested. This project aims to examine chronic pain from a novel perspective by employing mathematical models to study differences in learning processes between individuals with and without chronic pain. We will conduct behavioural experiments and use mathematical modelling to analyze pain-related learning, perception, and decision-making disparities between these groups. Additionally, we will compare these findings to a group of individuals with depression to assess the specificity of these learning differences. By providing crucial data on the psychological processes associated with chronic pain, this research could lead to improved classifications, interventions, and early identification methods for at-risk individuals. Ultimately, this approach may contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of chronic pain and pave the way for innovative treatment strategies.