12th World Congress on Pain

[Nick]

I just received registration materials for the World Congress in Glasgow, Scotland this August. Anyone else going? Any interest in Nanaimo II on the other side of the pond?

[christophb]

Nanaimo II would be great. I nominate Eric... to set it up that is.

[Luke Rickards]

Nick, I might just be up for this. I had a ball at the 11th in Sydney.

[Diane]

I'm more attracted to the satellite one in Dublin... too bad they are so split up. :sad:

[mikesangster]

Hey Nick,

I am planning on going... I am submitting an abstract for a poster presentation - if that doesn't get accepted, it might be hard to get the funding I need... fingers crossed.

Mike

[Luke Rickards]

I am submitting an abstract for a poster presentationDo tell...

What sort of funding do they give for presenters?

[EricM]

I am going to look into cost of flights.

[Luke Rickards]

Well, I'm now officially registered for the congress.

I've just been browsing the final program with the online 'itinerary planner'. I'm going to need at least 3 bodies to go to every session I'm interested in. There will be some tough choices ahead.

[Diane]

Both Dave and Neil (Canadian Physiotherapy Pain Science Division) are going. If you meet them there, say hello. They'd probably enjoy meeting you.

[Luke Rickards]

Here's one for you Diane.

Topical Workshop

INSULAR CORTEX: WHAT IS ITS ROLE IN PAIN SENSATION?

Summary:

The insula has long been recognized as part of the network of nociceptive areas in the brain. Recent advances in neuroanatomical tracing, animal and human electrophysiology, and in particular neuroimaging in humans has shed new light on the multiple roles of the insula in pain sensation. These include a key role in general homeostatic functions, early attentional modulation of nociceptive signal processing, multisensory integration, and emotional pain memory. The first speaker (Craig) will present functional and anatomical data from animal experiments on the afferent and efferent connections of the insula, and its role in thermosensation and homeostasis. The second speaker (Tracey) will present high-resolution human imaging data on somatotopic and affective representation within the operculo-insular region, as well as attentional and pharmacological modulation of its activity. The third speaker (Treede) will focus on multisensory integration within the operculo-insular region in humans, summarizing invasive and non-invasive electrophysiology and functional imaging data. About 30 minutes will be reserved for floor discussion. The floor discussion will lead to an in-depth evaluation of the data presented by the three panelists, but we also expect additional contributions about new findings from the audience. This format was very successful during previous World Pain Congresses and is expected to lead to a new state-of-the-art summary of the roles of insular cortex in pain sensation.
Educational Objectives:

The insula and the cingulate cortex compete for being the most important regions for the cortical representation of pain. This topic is relevant to both clinical and basic science audiences, since the panelists intend to cover a broad range of assessment tools, from comparative neuroanatomy in animals to assessment in human subjects, including patients. The insula and the overlying frontal and parietal operculum are increasingly recognized as important for human feelings, including both sensory and affective pain dimensions as well as pain memory. In addition, our wider understanding of the insula’s role in human perception is growing from neuroscientific studies outside the field of pain research. These results have relevance to our understanding of pain processing and will also be discussed. We anticipate many more advances in this field between the time of this writing and the date of the congress, which will be covered either in the three formal presentations or during the floor discussion.
Organizer:

Presentations:

THE LAMINA I STT PATHWAY TO INSULAR CORTEX--A. Craig, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, AZ.

DETERMINING THE ROLES OF SUBDIVISIONS OF THE INSULA CORTEX IN PAIN PERCEPTION USING FMRI--I. Tracey, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.

NOCICEPTIVE, TACTILE AND VESTIBULAR REPRESENTATION IN THE HUMAN INSULA--R. Treede, University of Heidelberg, D-68167 Mannheim, Germany.

[Jon Newman]

Luke,

I hope you'll consider blogging about the conferences you attended.

[Luke Rickards]

I promise I'll take notes and bring the info here.

[Diane]

Can't wait to hear your report on the insula, Luke. :)

[Luke Rickards]

Here is the itinerary I have chosen (I may make a few changes)

Monday, August 18, 2008
10:00 am - 11:30 am Topical Workshop MEMORY FOR PAIN
2:30 pm - 3:00 pm Plenary Lecture NEURONAL MECHANISMS OF JOINT PAIN
3:00 pm - 3:30 pm Plenary Lecture STRESS AND CHRONIC PAIN: LESSONS LEARNED FROM FIBROMYALGIA
4:00 pm - 5:30 pm Topical Workshop MYALGIA: ARE MYOFASCIAL TRIGGER POINTS AND TENDER POINTS OF FIBROMYALGIA THE SAME OR DIFFERENT PHENOMENA?

Tuesday, August 19, 2008
10:00 am - 11:30 am Topical Workshop MANAGING LOW BACK PAIN: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
4:00 pm - 5:30 pm Topical Workshop PATIENTS' VOICES: UNDERSTANDING THE EXPERIENCE OF CHRONIC PAIN
4:00 pm - 5:30 pm Topical Workshop MOTOR CONTROL IMPAIRMENTS IN MUSCULOSKELETAL PAIN: BASIC, EXPERIMENTAL AND CLINICAL APPROACHES

Wednesday, August 20, 2008
9:00 am - 9:30 am Plenary Lecture EXTERNAL VALIDITY OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS: TO WHOM DO THE RESULTS OF THIS TRIAL APPLY?
10:00 am - 11:30 am Topical Workshop ACUPUNCTURE IN MANAGEMENT OF THE PAIN PATIENT: A WESTERN PHYSIOLOGICAL VIEW
2:30 pm - 3:00 pm Plenary Lecture NEUROBIOLOGY OF ITCH AND PAIN: SCRATCHING FOR ANSWERS
3:00 pm - 3:30 pm Plenary Lecture ROLE OF INHIBITION IN THE GENERATION AND AMPLIFICATION OF PAIN

Thursday, August 21, 2008
10:00 am - 11:00 am Topical Workshop PREVENTING CHRONIC PAIN IN PRIMARY CARE SETTINGS: WHICH INTERVENTION, FOR WHOM, AND WHEN
3:00 pm - 3:30 pm Plenary Lecture THE EXTINCTION OF PAIN MEMORIES
4:00 pm - 5:30 pm Topical Workshop PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF MEDICATION USE IN CHRONIC PAIN: THE ROLES OF BELIEFS, AVOIDANCE AND LEARNING

Friday, August 22, 2008
9:00 am - 9:30 am Plenary Lecture IT’S A BELIEF. IT’S AN APPRAISAL. IT’S COPING…NO, IT’S CATASTROPHIZING
10:00 am - 11:30 am Topical Workshop INVOLVEMENT OF FRONTAL CORTICAL AREAS IN CHRONIC PAIN: FROM MOLECULES TO EMOTION
3:00 pm - 3:30 pm Plenary Lecture TRAUMATIC NERVE INJURY: DIAGNOSIS, RECOVERY, AND RISK FACTORS FOR NEUROPATHIC PAIN
4:00 pm - 5:30 pm Topical Workshop LONGITUDINAL PERSPECTIVES ON MUSCULOSKELETAL PAIN IN THE POPULATION