Untangling the Neural Mechanisms of Chronic Pain
- neuroversecc
- Oct 23
- 2 min read
In the tenth episode of Tools for Looking into the Brain, created in collaboration with Scientifica, Clara and Carolina are joined by Professor Sascha Alles, a neuroscience researcher at the Department of Anesthesia at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital.
Professor Alles discusses the underlying science of how pain signals are generated and processed, the electrophysiological changes that sustain chronic pain, and why pain research presents such unique challenges. The conversation also highlights how advanced technologies and experimental models are transforming our understanding of the nervous system.
Professor Sascha Alles is a neuroscientist whose personal experience with chronic pain inspired his career-long focus on understanding and treating it. His research explores the molecular mechanisms of nociception and chronic pain, aiming to advance the development of non-opioid therapies. At Cincinnati Children’s, Professor Alles leads a multidisciplinary team using electrophysiology, imaging, bioinformatics, and molecular biology to study sensory neurons in both the peripheral and central nervous systems.
With over 15 years of experience, Professor Alles has made significant contributions to understanding how ion channels and receptors regulate neuronal excitability in chronic pain conditions. To learn more about his research, check out some of his publications:
Visceral pain-related acute actions of cerulein on mouse and human sensory neurons. Goyal, S; Zurek, N; Ehsanian, R; Goyal, S; Jones, DT; Shilling, M; Desir, GV; Gorelick, F; Westlund, KN; Alles, SR A. Molecular Pain. 2025; 21:17448069251353346.
Machine Learning Elucidates Electrophysiological Properties Predictive of Multi- and Single-Firing Human and Mouse Dorsal Root Ganglia Neurons. Zurek, NA; Thiyagarajan, S; Ehsanian, R; Goins, AE; Goyal, S; Shilling, M; Lambert, CG; Westlund, KN; Alles, SR A. eNeuro. 2024; 11:eneuro.0248-eneu24.2024.
Electrophysiological Analyses of Human Dorsal Root Ganglia and Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-derived Sensory Neurons From Male and Female Donors. Zurek, NA; Ehsanian, R; Goins, AE; Adams, IM; Petersen, T; Goyal, S; Shilling, M; Westlund, KN; Alles, SR A. Journal of Pain. 2024; 25:104451.
Editorial: Insights in pain mechanisms 2022. Alles, SR A. Frontiers in Pain Research. 2023; 4:1290621.
Listen to the episode here
In collaboration with Scientifica, this podcast series- Tools for Looking into the Brain- is dedicated to creating engaging and informative content exploring various techniques used by researchers in neuroscience. With a focus on electrophysiology, multiphoton imaging, and optogenetics. Throughout this series, we'll have special guest appearances, offering valuable insights and perspectives from experts in the field.
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