The Bingel Laboratory
Prof. Dr. Ulrike Bingel and her research group focuses on the interaction between pain and cognitive processes. We have a longstanding expertise in investigating the CNS mechanisms underlying nociception, pain, and pain modulation in health and disease. In our research, we use behavioural paradigms, pharmacological modulations, as well as functional and structural brain imaging. Being particularly intrigued by the reciprocal effects of pain and cognition, we have a strong focus on translational questions such as the role of expectations and prior experiences on analgesic treatment outcomes. Our interdisciplinary research group comprises neurologists, neuroscientists, psychologists, biologists, and computer scientists and is based at the Department of Neurology at the University Medicine Essen. We are affiliated with the Erwin-L-Hahn institute for magnetic resonance imaging and the Translational Pain Research Department of the University Pain Center. Our research is funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.
Recent News
Open-label placebos (OLPs) are an inert treatment administered openly and transparently, allowing patients to knowingly receive a placebo while still experiencing therapeutic benefits (eg, pain relief). In this review, we outline methodological considerations for designing and conducting open-label placebo studies in pain research and beyond, providing guidance on control group selection, blinding strategies, and reporting standards - with direct experience in conducting OLP studies from each author. In addition, we gathered insights from the patient advisory board of the transregional Collaborative Research Center (CRC/TRR) 289 “Treatment Expectation” to incorporate patient perspectives on the feasibility and acceptability of OLPs. Read the full paper published in the journal PAIN here.
Huge congrats to Dr. Balint Kincses, who has received the 2026 IFORES Career Kickstart grant for his project titled "Layers of pain: uncovering the mechanisms in the cortical integration of bottom-up and top-down processes in pain perception and its modulation using ultra-high field fMRI". He will conduct his work at the Erwin L. Hahn Institute using 7 Tesla neuroimaging to differentiate the role of different cortical layers.
How does a placebo reduce pain? Our study led by Tamas Spisak suggests that the answer depends on how the placebo effect is induced. We combine brain imaging data from 16 studies involving 409 participants: Verbal suggestions & learning through experience recruit overlapping—but partly distinct—brain mechanisms.
Rather than reflecting inconsistency across studies, these differences provide important clues about the biology of placebo pain relief. The study also highlights the value of pooling participant-level neuroimaging data across labs. By embracing heterogeneity instead of treating it as a problem, we gain a richer understanding of how the brain supports pain relief—ultimately moving toward more personalized treatment approaches.
We are deeply grateful to all our collaborators for their willingness to share data, expertise, & ideas. Their commitment to open, transparent, & reproducible science made it possible to answer a question no single study could have addressed alone. More info: placebo-imaging-consortium.github.io
The research topic in the journal Frontiers in Psychology on "Optimizing the Therapeutic Potential in Clinical Settings: Leveraging Placebos and Mitigating Nocebo Effects" now includes three contributions from our lab! Thanks Frontiers for pushing this important topic!
[1] "Optimized communication during risk disclosure to reduce nocebo headache after lumbar puncture - a study protocol" (Asan et al., 2025)
[2] "From catastrophizing to catalyzing: does pain catastrophizing modulate the beneficial impact of open-label placebos for chronic low back pain?" (Caliskan et al., 2025)
[3] "The association between test anxiety, learning strategies, and open-label placebo effects on academic test performance" (Frisaldi et al., 2025)
