This is the twenty-seventh annual international Ph.D. course on the translational neurobiology of the pain system. The purpose of the course is to introduce different aspects of the neurobiology of the pain system and to initiate new co-operation in interdisciplinary pain research.

This year the course will focus on translational aspects of chronic pain mechanistic descriptors: nociceptive and neuropathic pain as well nociplastic pain. Nociplastic pain is the semantic term defined by the International Association of the Study of Pain to describe a third category of pain that is mechanistically distinct from nociceptive and neuropathic: “Pain that arises from altered nociception despite no clear evidence of actual or threatened tissue damage. Nociplastic pain contrasts with nociceptive pain (instances where chronic inflammation leads to neuroplastic peripheral and central changes leading to pain - e.g., osteoarthritis, cancer) and neuropathic pain (pain associated with lesions or diseases to the somatosensory system - e.g., diabetic neuropathy, stroke). The themes and speakers of this first module will cover the different neuroplastic processes occurring in these different mechanisms of pain and will address how the current knowledge can be used to design better prediction and therapeutic interventions.

A second focus will be pain comorbid to other diseases. Emerging research have indicated that some neuropsychiatric diseases may be complicated by the occurrence of pain, which adds a supplementary layer of burden on patients suffering and loss in quality of life. Recent studies suggest that pain in these instances may present with high interindividual difference, which is believed to represent different underlying mechanisms. Pain associated with Parkinson disease, major depression and hormone deprivation will be discussed in context with their respective neuroplastic changes, and their meaning.

The lectures will be given by staff from Center for Neuroplasticity and Pain (CNAP, Aalborg University), and by invited international key scientists within the area.