Uncertainty increases pain

Check out our new paper: http://www.jneurosci.org/content/33/13/5638.full.pdf - free online at the Journal of Neuroscience.

Placebo and nocebo effects are well known - and describe how predictions bias experience of pain. In a nutshell, we show that if those predictions are more uncertain, this uncertainty increases pain independently of the bias induced by the basic placebo / nocebo effect. This effect is correlated with fMRI BOLD activity in the PAG.

Uncertainty increases pain: evidence for a novel mechanism of pain modulation involving the periaqueductal gray. Yoshida W, Seymour B, Koltzenburg M, Dolan RJ. J Neurosci. 2013 Mar 27;33(13):5638-46. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4984-12.2013. PMID: 23536078

 

Post-doc position coming up soon

There's a possibility of a new post-doc / research associate position being available here (in Japan) later in the year. It would involve using fMRI and brain decoding methods to study pain, and a collaboration with colleagues at ATR.

If you're interested, please write to me at seymour@cinet.jp

14.03.2013

BMI Osaka

BMI Osaka is the worlds first dedicated symposium on the clinical - translational aspects of brain-machine interfaces, organised by Toshiki Yoshimine from CiNet.

Do politicians need brains?

Recently there's been quite a lot of interest of the potential role of neuroscience in informing public policy, and some quite big names have weighed into the discussion - the Royal Society for instance. But is it all yet more neurobabble, with a few fame-hungry neuroscientists getting lofty political ambitions, and politicians trying to attach scientific credulity to dodgy policies? Here's our short take on the subject - with special focus on 'behavioural change' policies (aka. Nudges). 

BMI Pleasure Pod

Over the last 6 months we've been working on a slightly unusual project - a neuro- and bio-responsive pleasure pod, in collaboration with architectural food artists  Bompas and Parr, generative visual artist Matt Pearson, and contemporary artistic designers from Jotta. 

Here's the concept: real-time physiological, facial EMG and neural data are recorded and analysed online, and parameters control a complex, computer generated visual and auditory display projected within an enclosed pod. The data is tuned to affective (emotional) responses, and since the feedback projection is designed to be aesthetic, this in turn elicits it's own affective response. This generates a closed-loop system, realised as an immersive multi-sensory fusion. In the project above, you sit in the pod (modeled aboved by Kelly Brook) and eat an ice-cream (a Magnum Infinity - thanks to our sponsors). Your response to the ice-cream stimulates an evolving, dynamic and (hopefully) aesthetically enhanced experience.