Program of the Conference
Sunday, October 6th, 2013
16:00 Registration and Welcome in Ballroom, Heidelberg Congress House
Keynote Lectures
18:00 Allan Basbaum, University of California, San Francisco, USA: Transplant-mediated repair of spinal cord GABAergic circuitry to treat chronic pain
18:30-18:40 Discussion
18:40 Irene Tracey, FMRIB Centre, Oxford, UK: Why Image pain?
19:10-19:20 Discussion
19:30 Open-ended Conference Dinner in Merian Hall, Heidelberg Congress House
20:00 Debate and discussion on ‘Specificity versus Pattern’ theories of pain between Allan Basbaum and Irene Tracey. Proposed moderators: Robert Schmidt and Vania Apkarian in Merian Hall, Heidelberg Congress House
Monday, October 7th, 2013
09:00-10:30 Session 1: Structure, function and plasticity of peripheral circuits-I
Chair: Thomas Tolle, Department of Neurology, Technical University, Munich, Germany.
1. Jan Siemens, Heidelberg University, Germany: Modulating pain senstization-insights from TRPV1 proteomics
2. Martin Schmelz, Heidelberg University, Germany: The role of axonal hyperexcitability of primary nociceptors in pain states
3. Gary Lewin, Max-Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine, Germany: The beginning of pain, the molecular physiology of sensory mechanotransduction
10:30-10:45 Discussion
10:45-11:15 Coffee break and Poster session
11:15-12:15 Session 2: Structure, function and plasticity of peripheral circuits-II
Chairs: Hermann Handwerker, Institute of Physiology and Pathophysiology, FAU, Erlangen, Germany.
1. Gerald F. Gebhart, University of Pittsburgh, USA: Peripheral circuit plasticity and visceral pain
2. Frank Birklein, University of Mainz, Germany: CRPS and the immune system
12:15-12:30 Discussion
12:30-14:00 Lunch and Poster session
14:00-15:00 Session 3: Spinal circuits and their remodelling in chronic pain states- I
Chairs: Irmgard Tegeder, Pharmazentrum, University of Frankfurt, Germany.
1. Ru-Rong Ji, Duke University School of Medicine, USA: Sensitization and desensitization of spinal cord pain circuitry by immune and glial mediators.
2. Michael Salter, University of Toronto, Canada: Neuron-Glia signalling in pain neuroplasticity
15:00-15:15 Discussion
15:15-15:45 Coffee break and Poster session.
15:45-16:45 Session 4: Spinal circuits and their remodelling in chronic pain states-II
Chair: Siegfried Mense, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Germany.
1. Hilmar Bading, Heidelberg University, Germany: Nuclear calcium: Integrator of synapse-to-nucleus communication and regulator of pain associated gene expression.
2. Jürgen Sandkühler, Medical University Vienna, Austria: Synaptic mechanisms of hyperalgesia and analgesia.
16:45-17:00 Discussion
17:00 onwards Evening program for invitees and speakers.
Tuesday, October 8th, 2013
09:00-10:30 Session 5: Brain circuits I: Representation of pain in various cortical areas and its reorganisation in chronic pain states.
Chair: Wilfried Jänig, Institute of Physiology, Christian-Albrechts Univ., Kiel, Germany
1. Herta Flor, Department of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, Heidelberg Univ., Germany: Brain circuits involved in phantom limb pain
2. Angela Sirigu, Institute of Cognitive Science, CNRS, France: Brain plasticity in upper limb amputees and after hand allograft
3. Frank Porreca, University of Arizona, USA: Capturing and mechanistic investigations of affective dimensions of pain pre-clinically
10:30-10:45 Discussion
10:45-11:15 Coffee break and Poster session
11:15-12:45 Session 6: Brain circuits II: Activity rhythms and functional links between diverse brain areas
Chair: Ulf Baumgärtner, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Germany.
1. Vania Apkarian, North Western University, Chicago, USA: Predictors of the transition to chronic pain
2. Giandomenico Iannetti, University College London, UK: Novel approaches to capture nociceptive specific cortical activity in humans
3. Patrick Haggard, University College London, UK: The contribution of body representation to pain perception.
12:45-13:00 Discussion
13:00-14:30 Lunch and poster session
14:30-15:30 Session 7: Brain circuits III: The role of the anterior cingulate cortex in mediating and modulating pain: dogmas and dilemmas.
Chair: Walter Zieglgänsberger, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany.
1. Min Zhuo, University of Toronto, Canada: Long-term plasticity of corticospinal descending facilitation in neuropathic pain
2. Thomas Kuner, Heidelberg University, Germany: Contribution of structural neuronal plasticity in the anterior cingulated cortex to chronic pain.
15:30-15:45 Discussion
15:45-16:15 Coffee Break and Poster session
16:15-17:15 Session 8: Brain circuits IV: The role of the insular cortex in mediating and modulating pain: dogmas and dilemmas.
Chair: Manfred Zimmermann, Neuroscience and Pain Research Institute, Heidelberg, Germany
3. Rolf-Detlef Treede, Heidelberg University, Germany: Nociceptive and multimodal regions in the operculoinsular cortex.
4. Rohini Kuner, Heidelberg University, Germany: Dissection of cortical circuits mediating nociception and hypersensitivity.
17:15-17:30 Discussion
17:30 Outlook and end of the conference
Note: All the speakers’ talks and events are planned to take place in Ball Room, Heidelberg Congress House unless specified!