Modulation of pain perception

Pain is a salient percept that can draw our attention away from our current task so we can deal with potential bodily harm. We are interested in how our thoughts and actions can help us deal with pain, for example by distracting us from a painful stimulus. To address this, we use different tasks to measure how cognition and emotion reduce the pain intensity people feel in response to a painful stimulus. We also investigate brain mechanisms underlying pain perception, particularly in individuals who suffer from persistent chronic pain, and use different stimulation methods that may help modulate pain intensity.