neuroscience

A background in physiotherapy helps the Oxford-based researcher mix basic science with clinical work to better understand pain stemming from nerve compression.

Researchers map brain activity associated with a person’s anticipation of or direct confrontation with danger.

Immune-like cells in the central nervous system are now recognized as key participants in the creation and maintenance of persistent pain.

The race to develop analgesic drugs that inhibit sodium channel Na_V1.7 is revealing a complex sensory role for the protein.

Researchers find consistent behaviors and brain activity in an international study.

Researchers are beginning to tease apart the mechanisms underlying differences in how males and females respond to powerful painkillers.

Meet some of the people featured in the January 2018 issue of The Scientist.

Decades after their discovery by bioprospectors, amphibian-derived analgesics continue to attract scientific attention.

Compounds in the arachnids’ venom interact with ion channels to both cause and block pain.

In tiny doses, the pufferfish’s tetrodotoxin can be turned into a pain-relieving ion channel blocker.

Arachnids harbor a plentiful array of molecules that target mammalian pain receptors.

Venomous centipedes may harbor a clue to the creation of a successful pain-killing compound for humans.

Studying cone snail venom has yielded novel pain pathways, but the peptides that function as toxins are difficult to translate into drugs.

Researchers uncover a family of compounds that may be involved in pain transmission.

Painful snake bites may hold clues to developing analgesic drugs.

The acute pain that results from injury or disease is very different from chronic pain.

Since the mid-2000s, the voltage-gated sodium channel Na_V1.7 has emerged as a promising target for a new class of analgesics.

The brain is activated differently when it’s contemplating, rather than directly facing, a threat.

Ben Barres of Stanford University described glia’s roles in ensuring neurons’ proper synapse formation and in responding to brain injury.

From a plastic-munching coral to see-through frogs, here are The Scientist’s favorite images from 2017.