Podcasts Health Airing Pain 68: The Brain and the Genes

68: The Brain and the Genes

Published: April 15, 2015, 10:31 a.m.

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If someone steps on your toe, your toe hurts \\u2013 simple as that, right?\\xa0
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Wrong! Professor Rolf-Detlef Treede explains how the brain and nervous system make pain and why we can feel pain in a part of the body that hasn\\u2019t been harmed. It\\u2019s not just a question of good science, Treede argues \\u2013 better understanding will decrease discrimination against people in pain.
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Genes also have a role to play in the story of pain, says Professor Ana Valdes. Her research is helping to explain why some people develop conditions such as fibromyalgia, migraine or rheumatoid arthritis and others do not based on differences in our makeup at the molecular level. Even our psychological responses to pain are affected by differences in the nervous system. Valdes believes these more sophisticated approaches to pain offer hope of effective treatment in the future.
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Contributors:\\xa0
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  • Ana Valdes, Associate Professor and Reader, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, University of Nottingham\\xa0
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  • Rolf-Detlef Treede, Professor of Neurophysiology, Heidelberg University, Germany.
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#Arthritis #Depression #Fibromyalgia #Migraine #Educatinghealthcareprofessionals #Epidemiologyofpain #Explainingpain #Psychologicaleffectsofpain #Research
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