Programme of the conference

Monday, 19th September, 2011

10:30 onwards Registration

11:30-12.30 Lunch, Poster Session-I

12:30-14:00 Session 1: Disease-related changes in structure and function of peripheral nerves: clinical insights

Chair: Carla Nau, Anaesthesiology clinic, University Clinic, Erlangen,    Germany

1. Christoph Maier, Ruhr University, Bochum: Detection of neuropathy after peripheral nerve injury in humans

2. Troels S. Jensen, Danish Pain Research Center, Aarhus, Denmark: Peripheral neuropathic pain: Clinical and quantitative sensory tests and structural changes

3. Angelika Bierhaus, Internal Medicine, Med. Faculty Heidelberg, Heidelberg: Pathogenesis and mechanisms of sensory abnormalities in diabetic neuropathy in humans and animal models

14:00-14:15 Discussion

14:15-14:30 Coffee Break

14:30-16:00 Session 2: Functional attributes of sensory nerves and adaptions in pain states

Chair: Hermann Handwerker, Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, University of Erlangen, Germany.

1. Martin Schmelz, Med. Faculty Mannheim, Univ. Heidelberg: Changes in axonal spike initiation and propagation patterns in pain states

2. Paul Heppenstall, EMBL, Rome: Post translational modification of Tubulin and structural plasticity

3. Irmgard Tegeder, Pharmazentrum, Univ. Frankfurt: Molecular processes in sensory neuron adaptation to injury and their impact on neuropathic pain

16:00-16:15 Discussion

16:15-16:30 Coffee Break

16:30-18:00 Session 3: Disease-related changes in the structure and connectivity of sensory nerves - basic mechanisms

Chair: Wilfried Jänig, institute of Physiology, Christian-Albrechts-  University, Kiel, Germany

1. Patrick Mantyh, University of Arizona, Tucson: Cancer-induced structural changes in peripheral nerves

2. Rohini Kuner, Pharmacology Institute, Med. Faculty Heidelberg, Univ. Heidelberg: Long-term in vivo imaging of structural plasticity of peripheral nerves in chronic pain models

3. Maria Fitzgerald, University College London: Developmental plasticity of spinal pain circuits and its impact on adult chronic pain

18:00-18.15 Discussion

18:30 Walk to the castle:
Evening program for invitees and speakers: Castle and Dinner

Tuesday, 20thSeptember, 2011

09:00-10:30 Session 4: Reorganization of neuronal circuits in the spinal  cord in chronic pain states

Chair: Manfred Zimmermann, Neuroscience and Pain Research Institute, Heidelberg, Germany

1. Andrew Todd, University of Glasgow, Scotland: Sensory circuits in the spinal cord

2. Stephen McMahon, King’s College, London: Nerve injury, regeneration and pain

3. Ru-Rong Ji, Harvard Medical School, USA: Spinal neuron-glia interactions in neuropathic pain

10:30-10:45 Discussion

10:45-11.00 Coffee break

11.00-12.00 Session 5:  Body representation of pain in the brain I

Chair: Robert Schmidt, Department of Neurophysiology, Würzburg, Germany

1. Ulf Baumgartner, Med. Faculty Mannheim, Univ. Heidelberg: Somatotopies on subcortical levels

2. Rolf-Detlef Treede, Med. Faculty Mannheim, Univ. Heidelberg: Somatotopic representation of pain in the operulo-insular cortex

12:00-12.15 Discussion

12:15-13.15 Lunch, Poster Session-II

13:15-14:45 Session 6:  Body representation of pain in the brain II

Chair: Walter Zieglgänsberger, Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry, Munich, Germany

1. Giandomenico Iannetti, University of Oxford: Is there a nociceptive humunculus in our cortex? - Evidence from human imaging data

2. Andre Mouraux, Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium: New perspectives to tag cortical activity specific for nociception

3. Petra Schweinhardt, McGill University, Canada: Structural Brain alterations in Fibromyalgia

14:45-15.00 Discussion

15.00-15:45 Coffee Break and Poster Session-II

15:45-17:15 Session 7: Affective and cognitive factors in pain perception

Chair: Christian Schmahl, Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim, Germany

1. Herta Flor, Central Institute of Mental Health, Univ. Heidelberg: Learning-related changes in pain and brain organization

2. Ulrike Bingel, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf: Cortico-brainstem-spinal interactions underlying placebo analgesia

3. Katja Wiech, University of Oxford: The influence of negative emotions on pain: behavioral effects and neural mechanisms

17:15-17.30 Discussion

17:45-18.15 Outlook


Andreas Meyer-Linderberg, Central Institute of Mental Health, Univ. Heidelberg, Mannheim:
Characterizing the mechanisms of plasticity in the living human brain