An interdisciplinary approach uncovers a new antinociceptive molecular mechanism and shows that the adhesion GPCR CIRL adjusts the sensation of gentle touch and noxious mechanical insult in opposite directions.

A signal amplifier network that transmits mechanical pain is delineated through characterising an excitatory interneuron population in the spinal cord dorsal horn and defining the postsynaptic populations they regulate.

Development of a fully automated pain scale using machine learning tools in computational neuroethology and creation of new software, reveals a robust circuit-dissection compatible platform for objective pain measurement.

Chronic pain distorts intensity coding in the anterior cingulate cortex to give rise to generalized anatomically nonspecific enhancement in pain aversion.

Optogenetics reveals that keratinocytes can evoke action potential firing in several types of cutaneous sensory afferents, including those that transmit thermal, mechanical and pain stimuli.

Keratinocytes are critical for normal innocuous and noxious touch through their mechanically evoked ATP release and subsequent signaling to P2X4 channels on sensory neurons.

Operant drug self-administration in a mouse model of neuropathic pain reveals pain-relieving effects of a cannabinoid CB₂ receptor agonist that are mediated through CB₂ receptors of neurons and lymphocytes.

Drosophila polymodal nociceptors use precipitous fluctuation of the firing rate, which depends on Ca²⁺ influx, as a key signal encoding a heat sensation and evoking the robust heat avoidance behavior.

Electrophysiological experiments, Ca²⁺ imaging, and behavioral studies in mice identify the TRPM3 ion channel as a novel target of G-protein βγ subunits.

Greater connectivity of the descending pain modulatory system network in the infant brain is associated with lower pain-related brain activity.