We are happy to announce that Karin Jensen from the Karolinska Institute, will be the first speaker of SUBIC seminar series this semester! The seminars will be on Thursdays from 9.00 to 10.00 at Stockholm University Brain Imaging Center (SUBIC). We are hoping to have most seminars onsite and that many of you will join us at SUBIC, but we will continue to have the seminars accessible via zoom too. Everybody is most welcome to join the seminars. 

Date: Thursday 29 September, 9.00-10.00
Title: Can fMRI be used to find individuals at risk for chronic pain?
Speaker: Karin Jensen, Karolinska Institute
Place: SUBIC seminar room or

Zoom:

https://stockholmuniversity.zoom.us/meeting/register/u5wkc-6hrjooGdVrolgQY971hdReDc9frmY1
 

Meeting ID: 689 4790 1231

Password: 641559

Abstract

Pain is the primary reason why people seek healthcare and chronic pain is common in the general population (>20% prevalence). Some of our most common chronic pain conditions have no clear evidence of tissue or nerve damage. Instead, there is evidence for abnormal regulation of pain signals within the central nervous system. Despite vast evidence for abnormal pain regulation (from cross-sectional studies), the development of chronic pain in humans is poorly understood. One reason is the lack of prospective and longitudinal data, and the small sample sizes. In an ongoing study, called PrePain, we aim to identify predictors of chronic pain in healthy individuals, by collecting a large number of brain scans from healthy individuals and combine these data with clinical data from yearly follow-ups performed via national registries. The yearly incidence of long-term pain is 8%, which means that a cumulative number of individuals in PrePain develop long-term pain each year. Within 5 years, our predictive models can hopefully be tested, which combine brain measures, baseline ratings and registry data. In this talk, the PrePain project, and other studies that aim to find early markers of chronic pain, will be presented.