Lectures and seminars From Circuits to Molecules: Developing Therapies for Pain and Opioid Addiction

The research group led by Grégory Scherrer employs a wide range of advanced methods, including genetic engineering, molecular biology, microscopy, electrophysiology, and opto- and chemogenetics. By studying neural activity in freely moving mice, they have identified circuits in the amygdala that encode the unpleasant quality of pain, as well as a cingulate-cortico-ponto-cerebellar pathway involved in placebo-like modulation of pain. In collaboration with the Roth lab, the team has also developed a novel chemogenetic tool to selectively modulate peripheral pain neurons. At the same time, their research explores the body’s endogenous pain control systems, with a particular focus on opioid receptors. Current projects aim to map the molecular identity of opioid-expressing cells across the body and to understand their cell-type-specific signaling. Together, these studies provide essential knowledge for developing the next generation of pain therapies—effective, non-addictive, and targeted at precise neural mechanisms.