21st October 2024 Heidelberg Lecture by Prof. Rohini Kuner: Chronic Pain: A Tale of Molecular and Neural Circuit Plasticity

The signature event of Heidelberg University in India, “Heidelberg Lecture” was organised in cooperation with The German Consulate Bengaluru and the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS). Mr. Burkart, German Counsel General Bengaluru delivered the Welcome Address and Prof. Weller, Pro-Rektor for International Relations introduced the speaker and presented on Heidelberg University.  

 

In her lecture, Prof. Kuner talked about Chronic pain remains an unmet challenge in medicine and represents an area of frontier research. Why does pain persist despite healing of injuries in some individuals? How her work is revealing how neural circuits are remodelled over the transition to chronic pain and how this is driven by molecular plasticity. In her Talk she explained how her research explores the link between pain and suffering, manifest as depression, fear and stress, and is guided reverse translationally by major unsolved questions in patients with chronic pain. She talked about employing a multifaceted approach that integrates whole animal physiology with in-vivo imaging, in-vivo and ex-vivo electrophysiological recordings, cell-type specific circuit dissection via opto-/chemo-genetics and tracing toolbox, transcranial magnetic and current stimulation and combination of behavioral therapies with pharmacological manipulations in mouse models of chronic pain. The goal is to expose the underpinnings of pain and suffering and target them for pain relief.

 

The well received lecture was attended by over 250 scientists, doctors and students from over seven institutions and hospitals across Bengaluru.