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Stories

Who is CNAP? What drives us? What are we currently working on? On this page, some of our team members give an insight into CNAP.

Ana Maria Zamorano-Andrés, Assistant Professor

My main interest is to explore the effects of extensive sensorimotor training on pain processing with the aim of understanding the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the vulnerability for developing chronic pain.

In my current project, I am using transcranial magnetic stimulation, electrophysiological, and behavioral tools to measure sensory and motor cortical responses in trained musicians as a model for exploring the interactions between extensive sensorimotor training and pain.

Suzan Meijs, Assistant Professor

What fascinates me is how it is possible to restore lost functions in humans using electrical stimulation of nervous tissue. Right now, however, I focus on doing the opposite in a large animal model; I am using high-frequency electrical stimulation to induce hyperactivity in pain pathways in the spinal cord. By this we can learn about how such a hyperactive state is triggered in humans, how it affects the brain and hopefully how we can reverse it back to normal.

Carsten Dahl Mørch, Associate Professor

I have always been fascinated by the human ability to sense the world and be conscious about it. The paradox of chronic pain seems to be one of the most difficult riddle to solve: The perception of pain is essential for our survival as an alarm system avoid trauma to the body, but when pain becomes chronic it does not serve that purpose any longer. Too often, chronic pain becomes a devastating and disabling condition for the individual. Therefore, I find the topic of neuroplastic mechanisms in the pain system, the focus CNAP, utterly important. The multidisciplinary composition of CNAP enables a thorough investigation of the basic mechanisms of the pain system.

Armita Faghani Jadidi

Armita Faghani Jadidi, PhD fellow

My main interest is to explore the underlying brain mechanism in a phantom limb pain process. It may contribute to finding related biomarkers and based on that possible enhanced treatment for this phenomenon.

The aim of my current study is to investigate the effects of different electrical stimulation patterns on excitability of the corticospinal tract in healthy subjects and amputees with phantom limb pain. This can lead to a better understanding of the sensory-motor cortex relationship and finding a possible optimum pattern to enhance phantom limb pain relief.

Rocco Giordano

Rocco Giordano, Assistant Professor

My main interest is to investigate epigenetic modifications concerning pain using high-throughput molecular techniques in order to identify molecular pathways that can be at the base of the pain process and neuroplastic changes.

My project aims at the identification of circulating molecular biomarkers, such as long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) and microRNA (miRNA), which could predict the development of chronic postoperative pain after total knee replacements in patients affected by osteoarthritis (OA) and further explain the progression of OA by including patients ranging from early OA to severe OA.

Dennis Boye Larsen, Assistant Professor

In view of investigating how plasticity may be an intrinsic capacity that varies among healthy humans, my studies will pertain to probing pain plasticity through the application of a well-established model of early motor plasticity. At CNAP, a diverse team consisting of many different professions such as medical doctors, physiotherapists, and dedicated pain researchers, ensures that advice and opinions are never a shortcoming. Further, this diverse team creates a dynamic and scientifically rich environment, in which my ideas and knowledge can evolve through continuous discussions and dialogues. This ensures a high quality as well as application of my studies.

Jenny Tigerholm

Jenny Tigerholm, Assistant Professor

My main interest is to study excitability alterations occurring in small fiber neuropathy patients‚ developing related diagnostic tools and providing guidance for the development of new treatments.

Through computational modeling, I am studying nerve fiber activation to improve the Perception Threshold Tracking (PTT) technique, which is an indirect method to measure the excitability of nociceptor fibers.

Najah Al Hajri

Najah Al Hajri, PhD Fellow

I am interested in exploring changes in brain connectivity as an index of pain neuroplasticity. Namely, how brain networks reorganize themselves in response to pain. Therefore, I am working now on assessing changes in brain resting state functional connectivity in response to short-term and long-term capsaicin-induced pain using EEG, as well as exploring methods to counteract these changes such as motor learning.

This could shed more light on the underlying neuroplastic mechanisms associated with the transition from acute to prolonged pain from a network perspective, which may contribute to designing more effective rehabilitation interventions.

Marco Rizzo

Marco Rizzo, PhD Fellow

I am interested in exploring the neurophysiological and psychological features of the human brain and how the manipulation of these characteristics affects the individual pain perception.

My research line aims to investigate - through the EEG - the cortical interaction occurring with the combination of illusory movements obtained with a mirror box and actual painful stimuli. The following objective is to probe whether a mirror box training in healthy subjects causes a neuroplasticity process in the sensory-motor cortex. The discoveries might be fundamental to develop therapies for patients with phantom limb pain.

Felipe Rettore Andreis

Felipe Rettore Andreis, Research assistant

My main interest is extracting information from neural interfaces (i.e., multi-electrode cuffs) for an objective assessment of the activation of nociceptive responses.

Currently, I am using electrical stimulation in a large animal model to recruit different populations of fibres, reflecting noxious and non-noxious stimulation, while simultaneously investigating how those affect cortical interactions.

Taha Janjua

Taha Janjua, Research assistant

What I find intriguing is the ability to understand and in turn affect the enigma of complex brain mechanisms such as neuroplasticity and pain. I believe that research on brain functionality during pain processing can play a key role in future neuro-rehabilitation.

Currently, I am working on the assessment of intracortical information recorded from a large animal pain model that involves electrical peripheral nerve stimulation.

Silvia Lo Vecchio, Assistant Professor

My main focus is to study both similarities and differences between itch and pain, in order to help improving chronic patient’s pharmacological tretments and quality of life. Currently, I am interested in developing new models of non-histaminergic itch that can help to clarify the itch patways and molecules involved. This should help the treatment of people affected by chronic itch deaseases that are resistant to anti-histamine drugs.

Giulia Erica Aliotta

Giulia Erica Aliotta, PhD Fellow

Chronic itch occurs under many diseases and severely affects the quality of life. Finding an effecting treatment is challenging, but the prospects of improving patient’s quality of life fascinates me.

My current work aims to design a new human model of non-histaminergic itch to better understand the mechanism of pruritus and to evaluate the activation of a family of receptors also involved in pain pathways.