We warmly welcome Prof. Jonas Zaman (KU Leuven) as a guest researcher to the Bingellab! He has gained international recognition for his pioneering research on the interplay between fear and learning in the context of chronic pain. Through innovative experimental methods, his work has significantly contributed to reshaping our understanding of how acquired knowledge generalises to new contexts and how overgeneralisation can drive the development and maintenance of conditions like chronic pain or anxiety disorders. In his time with us, Professor Zaman will extend his investigations into fear and learning by characterising underlying brain mechanisms and exploring their broader implications for health and disease. Read more about his background and plans with us here (in German).

Ulrike Bingel wrote a German introductory article on “utilizing the power of expectations”. Promoting placebo effects and avoiding nocebo effects – this is useful and possible for almost every treatment. Every intervention, every medication taken, neurostimulation or physiotherapy is also subject to an expectation effect. It is important for therapists to know that they can support their patients through authentic and empathic communication. The example of placebo analgesia can be used to illustrate effects, mechanisms and communicative aspects can be shown particularly well. Find the book by Thieme publishers here.

Informed consent procedures and information about potential side effects of newly prescribed treatments present a classic dilemma. Although providing information about potential risks and side effects is necessary both from a medicolegal perspective and to maintain patient autonomy in a shared decision-making process, it can fuel patients’ worries and negative expectations. Ulrike Bingel and Katja Wiech discuss these topics in their comment, which you can read here.

Pain related learning alterations are a hallmark of chronic pain conditions. Balint, together with others, developed and externally validated a resting state connectivity signature of pain-related learning (RCPL). Connections of amygdala, posterior insula, sensorimotor, frontoparietal regions played the most important role. The model is robust and highly accessible for clinical and translational pain research. Read the preprint here. A joint effort of the collaborative research centers SFB/TRR 289 and 1280!

Our lab members Lea Busch and Elif Buse Caliskan had fun at the SFB 1280‘s “Brain Talks” event in Bochum last weekend. They determined visitors’ pain thresholds using electrical pain.

There are a few ways if you’re interested to come and work with us:

The countdown of this year‘s Max Planck School of Cognition application cycle has started. The application portal is now open for both, the Cognition Track and the Clinician Scientist Track. More information can be found here!

We also have another open PhD position here!

We’re excited to host a lab visit attached to the @bioDGPs_DGPA Young Scientist Retreat and can’t wait to show you all the various ways we induce and measure pain!

Today we can share with you our upcoming program for our virtual CRC/TRR 289 “Treatment Expectation” webinar series in the 2nd half of 2023. After wonderful speakers from the first half of the year like Andrea Evers, Keith Petrie, Irving Kirsch or Fabrizio Benedetti, we are now expecting equally wonderful talks and discussion starting in September with Marta Pecina, Karin Meißner, David Hohenschurz-Schmidt and Markus Ploner. Please note that all talks will take place at 4:00 pm CET. You can register by emailing and join the meeting here. Don’t worry: If you missed previous talks you can have a look at our Youtube channel, here you will find webinar talks, videos on our scientific topic and much more https://www.youtube.com/@SFB-TRR_289.

PhysioBib, together with Helena Hartmann, accompanied the SIPS conference in May 2023 with the camera and interviewed various researchers about their impressions and current work. For the conference, scientists from all over the world came to Duisburg to exchange the latest findings on the placebo effect for four days. You can watch the whole video on PhysioBib’s YouTube channel. Also check out this exciting video on placebo effects in physiotherapy. Pictured above from left to right: Helena Hartmann, Nils Reiter, Loïc Luttmann, and Noak Liem.