Hyperalgesic priming in chronic pain – the role of the stress axes

About the Project

Chronic pain devastates lives, yet we still don’t fully understand how it takes hold—especially where there’s no clear physical cause. This project will look directly at how stress can prime the peripheral nerves, potentially years before symptoms appear, leaving them in a highly sensitive state to future pain stimuli or ‘triggers’.

This project aims to unravel the intricate ways in which stress contributes to the development and persistence of chronic widespread pain – a debilitating condition that afflicts millions globally and costs the UK economy an estimated £10 billion annually.

It will test the hypothesis that chronic stress, particularly when intertwined with early life adversity—a factor regrettably more prevalent in lower socioeconomic groups—can ‘prime’ the nervous system. This insidious priming creates a vulnerability, leaving the body predisposed to long-term pain even in the absence of overt injury or disease.

To unravel these connections, the study will employ cutting-edge techniques, most notably microneurography — a method of recording signals from individual sensory nerve fibres — to identify signs of ‘hyperalgesic priming’. This is a pain condition in which stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, along with immune system changes, make pain-sensing nerves hypersensitive, creating an exposure to chronic pain. The project will build on methods we have established to document plasticity in peripheral nociceptors – our pain sensing fibres (Bouchatta et al 2026 doi: 10.64898/2026.02.05.703527).

The project promises to shed light on poorly understood 'nociplastic pain syndromes,' a category of pain where the nervous system is the primary driver, and which are known to disproportionately affect women.

The candidate will receive training in clinical pain research including psychophysical assessments, stress testing, and neurophysiology recordings and analysis. They will join an enthusiastic team and have opportunities to collaborate with researchers in Linköping, Sweden and the US.

The candidate should have at minimum an upper second class degree qualification in the field of medicine, biological sciences, psychology or related areas. A masters in neuroscience or signal processing is desirable and a clear enthusiasm for the topic essential!