Reading Emotions Symposium

4-5th June 2015

W h e r e ' s t h e O u c h ?

Distinguishing Emotional and Physical Pain

A string of high profile neuroimaging papers have pointed to similarities between patterns of activation elicited by physical pain (the “pain matrix”) and emotional stressors like social rejection. These papers have sparked a vigorous debate about the meaning of these apparent similarities. Are they evidence that social exclusion and other negative emotional experiences are experienced as painful or do they reflect common processes that are unspecific to physical pain? If these responses are non-specific, why has neuroimaging struggled to identify the mechanisms that underlie unique experiential aspect of physical pain?

The purpose of this symposium is to bring together experts in the fields of pain, social and affective neuroscience to examine how emotional and physical pain are distinct and how we might refine our methodology to detect these differences and better understand similarities.

P r o f e s s o r G i a n d o m e n i c o I a n n e t t i

Director of Iannetti Lab for Human Sensory Neuroscience and Pain Perception

University College London

P r o f e s s o r C l a u s L a m m

Head of the Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit

University of Vienna

D r S i r i L e k n e s

Director of Hedonic Pharmacology Laboratory

University of Oslo

D r T i m S a l o m o n s ( c h a i r )

Director of Pain, Affect and Cognition Laboratory

University of Reading

P r o f e s s o r I r e n e T r a c e y

Director of FMRIB, Head of Nuffield Department of Anesthetics

University of Oxford

Curriculum Vitae

P r o f e s s o r T o r W a g e r

Director of the Cognitive and Affective Control Laboratory

University of Colorado

*****

M e t h o d o l o g i c a l M a s t e r C l a s s

The second day will feature a limited enrolment Master Class

focusing on neuroimaging methodology

Dr. Jonathan Brooks

University of Bristol

Dr. Andy Segerdahl

University of Oxford

Professor Tor Wager

University of Colorado

Please click here for a meeting schedule

Please click here for information on how to find your way on the day

Please click here for a campus map, to help you when you reach us

Registration has now closed

Attendance and Registration Deadline: Friday 15th May 2015

Please email emotions.reading@gmail.com for any further information,

or to make an enquiry for this event

Attendance is limited and applications will be selected on the basis of the fit of their research interests to the theme of the symposium. This event is sponsored by the EPS, and IBRO. There will be a small registration fee (£20).

Researchers at all levels are encouraged to submit abstracts (250 words) for poster presentations. Registration fee will be waived for presenters.