BIOSTATISTICS SEMINAR
Neuroimaging of Pain and Distress: From Blobs to
Biomarkers to Brain Representation
Tor D. Wager, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience and the Institute for
Cognitive Science, the University of Colorado, Boulder
Abstract
Pain and emotional distress are realities that affect us all. Understanding the brain
representations that underlie pain and suffering could transform how we understand
and treat them; but currently, there are no human brain measures adequate for
determining whether one is angry or sad, whether pain is physical or emotional, or
whether one is feeling pain that is intense or mild. In this talk, I describe a series of
studies aimed at beginning to address these questions. Combining functional
neuroimaging with machine learning techniques, we have developed brain markers
capable of indicating the intensity of pain and negative emotion in individual
participants with > 90% accuracy, with no prior knowledge of an individual's
experience. In addition to their use as markers, such maps can provide insight into
the structure of the neurophysiological representations underlying pain and distress.
Our findings suggest that specific types of aversive experiences are encoded in
separate, population-based patterns that are co-localized in similar gross
anatomical circuits.
The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Department of Biostatistics, Monday, May 1, 2015, 12:15-1:15
Room W3008, School of Public Health (Refreshments: 12:00-12:15)
Note: Taking photos during the seminar is prohibited
For disability access information or listening devices, please contact the Office of Support Services
at 410-955-1197 or on the Web at www.jhsph.edu/SupportServices. EO/AA
Dr. Wager is a Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience and a faculty member in the
Institute for Cognitive Science at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He received his
Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in cognitive psychology in 2003, and served as an
Assistant and Associate Professor at Columbia University from 2004-2009. Since2010, he
has directed Boulder’s Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience laboratory. He has a deep
interest in how thinking influences affective experiences, affective learning, and brain-body
communication. His laboratory also focuses on the development and deployment of
analytic methods, and has developed several publically available software toolboxes for
fMRI analysis.