Chronic pain imposes enormous economic and social burden and current management strategies remain inadequate. It is known that individuals with chronic pain display significant alterations in regional brain structure, function and biochemistry and it is assumed that these differences are responsible for an individual’s constant perception of pain. Knowing how and when such changes occur in the brain would greatly enhance our understanding of the pathophysiology of chronic neuropathic pain and provide the platform for targeted and effective treatments that can prevent pain chronification following injury. We aim to use state-of-the-art brain imaging techniques to track the changes in neural activity during the development of chronic pain in an animal model. The proposed studies would be the first longitudinal investigation to track changes in brain structure and function during the development of acute and then chronic pain. These data are critical for our understanding the brain processes that underpin the transition from acute to chronic pain will provide a platform to begin to develop targeted treatments that can prevent chronic pain development and maintenance that results from nerve injury.
Dr Jessica Barry, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, NSW; Professor Luke Henderson, University of Sydney, Professor Richelle Mychasiuk, Monash University, Melbourne.
The project was awarded A$67,525 funding through the ANZCA research grants program for 2025.