How do our neurological systems influence our perception of pain in a self-regulatory way? How do anxiety and pain influence the way we solve cognitive learning tasks? And what effect do odors have? Prof. Christian Büchel investigates questions like these at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf.
Professor Dr. Christian Büchel, Director of the Institute for Systems Neuroscience at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf of the University of Hamburg and Principal Investigator of Project A02 within the SFB/TRR289
It never ceases to amaze me how powerful the effects of expectations are when it comes to pain.
Professor Dr. Christian Büchel, Director of the Institute for Systems Neuroscience at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf of the University of Hamburg and principal investigator in the Collaborative Research Center “Treatment Expectation” (SFB/TRR 289)
I am primarily a neuroscientist, but also a physician, and a particular focus of my work is pain research. Essentially, I wear two hats: As the institute director, I am responsible for twelve research groups that focus on learning, memory, affective processing, and expectations; and I am one of the group leaders in the field of pain research, with a special focus on expectation effects.
I am particularly interested in the descending modulatory systems of the human body: that is, our brain with its cortical components (we have already identified some of these), then the brainstem, and finally the spinal cord. How do these systems influence perception of pain in a self-regulatory way, so to speak, from top to bottom?
I’m also interested in other areas, such as the respiratory system and cognitive enhancement. For example, how do anxiety and pain influence how we solve cognitive learning tasks? What effects do they have on learning and memory? How do odors work? These are just a few of the questions I’m exploring.
From the Early Days of Brain Imaging to the Bayesian Integration Model
My interests were still quite broad during my medical studies in Heidelberg and particularly in psychiatry. However, they narrowed to focus on neuroscience after I completed my doctorate. As a young resident at Essen University Hospital, I witnessed the early days of neuroimaging in the mid-1990s.
After brief research stays in Philadelphia and Roskilde, Denmark, I spent an extended period in London, where I had the opportunity to witness the excitement surrounding the dawn of functional brain imaging. At University College London, I had the chance to work with Karl Friston - whom I greatly admire - during the time of “brain mapping”. Friston was one of the pioneers of these techniques, and his group had the first high-resolution devices capable of visualizing what happens where in our brain. It was so exciting that I stayed for four years.
In London, I focused on learning and classical conditioning. Pain is always a learning process - the learning of pain. This led to a focus on the topic of pain. When people experience pain, expectations always arise, and from there it was a short step to the Collaborative Research Center on treatment expectation.
For example, in 2017, we were interested in the question: Does the price of a medication as a nocebo effect influence the occurrence of side effects? And which areas of the brain are involved in this process? We were able to show that, in addition to higher cognitive areas in the cortex, the brainstem and spinal cord are also involved. These networks, in turn, play a role in pain processing.
I would like to highlight three personal aspects:
- For more than 20 years, I have been studying the cerebral mechanisms underlying the interaction between cognition and emotion in the fields of pain, anxiety, and addiction research, as well as in learning and decision-making processes. This is a vast field that remains fascinating, and there are still many mechanisms and neural networks to be unraveled.
- I am a strong advocate of the Bayesian integration model. This mathematical-statistical model is a relatively simple idea that can describe many aspects of pain. It is a universal principle that can explain many studies using the same model. For example, in the context of pain, the Bayesian model brings together expectation and the pain stimulus (e.g., heat). We developed the model in 2014 and are proud that it is now used by many research groups.
- For the next 10 years, I wish for a 7-Tesla MRI scanner; so far, we only have 3 Tesla. Unfortunately, the price for the device is 7.5 million euros. But the high resolution would enable us to shed light on the remaining blind spots in decoding brain functions and brain regions.
Prof. Christian Büchel: “Successful research collaborations sometimes arise by chance”
How I, as a physician, came to this field of research.
I believe that many coincidences ultimately came together in my career and shaped my field of research and my interests. For example, in 2005 in Hamburg, I had the opportunity to establish the regional imaging center NeuroImage Nord, which was created at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf. However, at that time there was only a single MRI scanner in Hamburg, and it was not possible to show people images during the scan to study the reactions in the brain. But there was a pain simulator—and so we began to take an interest in the cognitive modulation of pain. Prof. Ulrike Bingel, the current spokesperson for the SFB “Treatment Expectation” at Essen University Hospital, was a resident in neurology in Hamburg at the time. This is how very successful research collaborations come about: sometimes, quite simply, by chance.
Something I find fascinating about placebo research.
Our understanding of neural connections usually develops like this: A scientist discovers a detail in a mouse model, and then we investigate whether the same might be true in humans. For us, it was different: We conducted our first studies on involved brain regions and neural networks in humans starting in 2006 - and only then did we begin research on animals to see if it works the same way there. So, in this case, the research field developed in the opposite direction than usual: The impetus came from human research and then carried over into animal experimental research. We are proud of that.
What brings me joy in life.
Working with a great team of smart people - that’s what matters most to me. I truly enjoy working with smart, motivated colleagues, every single day. I also have many hobbies; I enjoy cycling and I also tinker with bikes myself, from restoring old Italian road bikes to modern gravel bikes. With three kids, that was also practical - it meant I could provide them all with good bikes. On top of that, I run my own coffee roastery. I get the green beans and roast them myself. I’m a big espresso fan, but I also need decaf options because I drink so much espresso. And there wasn’t anything on the market that seemed right for me. That’s why I got into it myself and now roast coffee. I also really enjoy restoring old coffee machines and coffee grinders.