NOCIONS all publications
NOCIONS all publications
The ability to perceive pain is crucial for survival, but pain is also a major healthcare issue as its treatment constitutes a very problematic challenge for physicians. Because of its aversive quality and its high prevalence, chronic pain affects the quality of life of millions of individuals, and imposes a severe financial burden upon our societies. Therefore, progress in understanding the neural representation of pain in humans is not only important for basic neuroscience research. Indeed, it is also critical to develop effective strategies for the diagnosis and management of pathological pain conditions.
Recent publications
Repeated exposure to cutaneous high-frequency electrical stimulation prolongs the time course of secondary hyperalgesia
J Neurophysiol
2025
Lebrun L, Stouffs A, Hermans E, van den Broeke E, Leone CM, Caspani O, Truini A, Garcia-Larrea L, Treede RD, Mouraux A.
Early CRPS Is a Heterogeneous Condition: Results From a Latent Class Analysis
Eur J Pain
2025
Louis MH, Legrain V, Aron V, Filbrich L, Henrard S, Barbier O, Libouton X, Mouraux D, Lambert J, Berquin A
Commentary : Advancements in noninvasive brain stimulation: exploring repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation of the posterior superior insula for pain relief.
Pain
2024
Liberati G.
A critical approach to research on perioperative pain management
Br J Anaesth
2024
Joshi GP, Beloeil H, Lobo DN, Pogatzki-Zahn EM, Sauter AR, Van de Velde M, Wu CL, Kehlet H; PROSPECT Working Group of the European Society of Regional Anaesthesia and Pain Therapy
Strength, extent and duration of secondary hyperalgesia induced by high-frequency electrical stimulation of the foot compared to the volar forearm of healthy human volunteers
PLoS One
2025
Lebrun L, Lenoir C, Leone C, van den Broeke EN, Caspani O, Schilder A, Pelz B, Truini A, Treede RD, Mouraux A
A pain research strategy for Europe: A European survey and position paper of the European Pain Federation EFIC
Eur J Pain
2025
Pickering G, O'Keeffe M, Bannister K, Becker S, Cottom S, Cox FJ, Eisenberg E, Finn DP, Forget P, Graven-Nielsen T, Kalso E, Kocot-Kepska M, Leite-Almeida H, Lopez-Garcia JA, Meeus M, Mouraux A, Pereira B, Puljak L, Reneman MF, Rohde I, Sotiropoulos I, Skidmore N, Tölle TR, Todorovic ST, Truini A, Vowles KE, Pogatzki-Zahn E, Garcia-Larrea L, Fullen BM
Preoperative susceptibility to developing secondary hyperalgesia is associated with post‐thoracotomy pain at 2 months
Eur J Pain
2024
Gousset S, Cappe M, Lenoir C, Steyaert A, Lavand'homme P, Mouraux A, Lacroix V, van den Broeke EN
Evolution and characteristics of nocturnal knee pain after knee arthroplasty
Arch Orthop Trauma Surg
2024
Daxhelet J, Delfosse G, Lavand'homme P, Fennema P, Thienpont E.
Chronic postsurgical pain and transitional pain services: a narrative review highlighting European perspectives
Reg Anesth Pain Med
2025
Moka E, Aguirre JA, Sauter AR, Lavand'homme P; European Society of Regional Anaesthesia and Pain Therapy (ESRA)
Implication of system xc- in complete Freund's adjuvant-induced peripheral inflammation and associated nociceptive sensitization
Neuropharmacology
2025
Beckers P, Charlier M, Azria-Richter L, Braconnier P, Desmet N, Massie A, Hermans E
Processing the fine-grained features of tactile textures involves the primary somatosensory cortex
Imaging Neuroscience
2024
Esposito G, Nozaradan S, Kuzminova A, Collignon O, Mouraux A
A multichannel electrophysiological approach to noninvasively and precisely record human spinal cord activity
PLoS Biology
2024
Nierula B, Stephani T, Bailey E, Kaptan M, Pohle LG, Horn U, Mouraux A, Maess B, Villringer A, Curio G, Nikulin VV, Eippert F.
Basic, translational and clinical pain research at the Institute of Neuroscience (IoNS). Better understanding the neural processes underlying the perception of pain and developing novel means to diagnose and manage chronic pain conditions constitutes the core objective of several research groups and clinicians within our institute.
Research group led by André Mouraux (IONS/COSY)
Using non-invasive functional neuroimaging techniques such as electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), combined with novel techniques to selectively activate specific classes of nociceptive afferents, the research performed by the team of André Mouraux follows two main axes. First, to understand how the human brain processes nociceptive sensory input and how this leads to the perception of pain. Second, to understand the plastic changes in nociceptive pathways that occur after inflammation, injury or sustained nociceptive input that induce peripheral and central sensitization and may underlie the development of chronic pain in humans.
Research group led by Valéry Legrain (IONS/COSY)
The main research interest of the team led by Valery Legrain is to understand the cognitive mechanisms modulating the link between nociception and the conscious perception of pain, and the neurobiological substrates of these cognitive mechanisms.
Three lines of research are developed. First, the group's researchers seek to understand and describe the cognitive factors that help modulate nociceptive responses and pain perception (e.g. selective attention, executive functions, multisensory interaction, and hypnosis). They also study whether cognitive functions could prevent the development of central sensitization to pain. Second, the group studies how pain and the central sensitization it can induce disrupt cognitive functioning (i.e. attention, memory, body and spatial representation). The third line of research aims to understand how pain interacts with other sensory modalities, such as vision and proprioception, in order to mentally represent the peripersonal space and to facilitate reaction against potentially damaging stimuli. These topics are studied in healthy volunteers on experimentally-induced pain as well as in patients suffering from chronic pain (e.g. complex regional pain syndrome, fibromyalgia)
Different approaches are used: neurophysiology (EEG, ESG, EMG, ERPs, TMS), psychophysics (threshold measurement, mental chronometry) and neuropsychology (study of patients with sensory-motor or attentional deficits).
Research group led by Giulia Liberati (IONS/COSY)
The group of Giulia Liberati aims to characterize how transient and sustained pain are represented in the human brain, taking advantage of the high temporal and spatial resolution of intracerebral electroencephalography (iEEG). She is particularly interested in investigating the role of the human insula in nociception and pain perception, as several findings suggest that this brain region plays a crucial role in the integration of sensory, affective, and cognitive dimensions of pain.
Research team led by Emmanuel Hermans (IONS/CEMO)
The research group of Prof. Emmanuel Hermans has a long-standing expertise in the use of animal models to study the neuroinflammation and plastic changes of the central nervous system induced by neurotrauma, and its involvement in the development of neuropathic pain. His laboratory has experience in the production of animal models of neuropathic pain, the techniques used to study the pain behaviour of these animals, and the immune-histological techniques to characterize the glial activation and changes in nociceptive pathways at peripheral, spinal and supra-spinal level.
Clinical pain research at the University Hospital
At the Cliniques universitaires Saint Luc, the Department of Anaesthesiology is involved in several clinical research projects focusing on the problematic of chronic post-operative pain. The multidisciplinary Chronic Pain Consultation led by Prof. Anne Berquin is involved in clinical research projects aiming at improving the multidisciplinary management of patients with chronic pain, including the development of new psychophysical techniques to assess patients with neuropathic pain, new bio-psycho-social approaches for the care of patients with chronic regional pain syndrome and chronic widespread pain.
NOCIONS
Institute of Neuroscience (IoNS)
53 Avenue Mounier, B1200, Brussels, Belgium
+32(0)2 764 54 47
