The sources of chronic pain are multifaceted. Whether induced through injury or aging, those who suffer from the persistence of chronic pain are often frustrated when their conditions cannot be captured through words or validated clinically. The last few years have seen a tremendous effort toward developing a brain-imaging–based model of pain. Advances in neuroimaging research hold the promise of increasing our understanding of the neural underpinnings of chronic pain, as well as measuring and quantifying more accurately pain representations in the brain. While brain imaging is widely considered to have the potential for diagnosis, prognostication, and prediction of treatment outcome in patients with chronic pain, as a tool, it comes with obvious limitations. What do we do with forms of chronic pain that simply do not “light up”? What are the limits of neuroimaging? How reliable is it? And how should we consider other forms of evidence? As neuroimaging develops, it is imperative to carefully consider the far-reaching ethical and legal implications of measuring and quantifying chronic pain. This seminar will bring together experts from different domains to discuss scientific, ethical, philosophical, and legal issues that relate to pain neuroimaging research.

Speakers:

Murat Aydede, Professor of Philosophy, University of British Columbia
Amanda Pustilnik, Professor of Law, University of Maryland
Tor Wager, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder

Moderators:

Federica Coppola, Presidential Scholar in Society and Neuroscience, Columbia University
Lan Li, Presidential Scholar in Society and Neuroscience, Columbia University

Free and open to the public, but RSVP is required via Eventbrite. This event is part of the Seminars in Society and Neuroscience series.