IASP PRF Seminar: The Cultural Neuroscience of Pain

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Description

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Individuals from ethnic minorities and women often report more pain and receive less pain treatment than men and ethnic majority individuals in both clinical and experimental settings. Although the existence of these pain disparities is well documented, the sociocultural factors contributing to them are not well understood and even less is known about their neurobiological underpinnings. In this seminar, Dr. Elizabeth Losin will present a neurocultural model of pain that outlines and connects cultural and neurobiological mechanisms that may account for some of the observed ethnic group differences in pain. She will then present a number of studies that test some of the mechanisms outlined in the neurocultural model, specifically studies that address three potential contributors to gender and racial/ethnic disparities in pain and pain treatment: 1) Life history factors that could influence pain perception including experiences like discrimination and beliefs about the causes and consequences of pain, 2) The clinician-patient relationship, and 3) Clinicians' biases in perceiving their patients' pain and decisions on how to treat it.

Contributors

Elizabeth Losin, PhD

Elizabeth Losin, PhD, is Assistant Professor of Psychology and Director of the Social and Cultural Neuroscience (SCN) Lab at the University of Miami. She received her PhD in Neuroscience from the University of California, Los Angeles, USA in 2012 and came to the University of Miami, USA at the start of 2015. Her passion lies in combining her training in anthropology and neuroscience to explore the bidirectional relationship between culture and the brain. She has investigated how humans acquire cultural beliefs and practices through imitation, how these beliefs and practices shape psychology and brain function by comparing individuals with different sociocultural backgrounds, and how both processes impact human health and healthcare. Along with the SCN Lab members, she is currently focusing on how cultural experiences (e.g., discrimination) and social situations (e.g., the doctor-patient relationship) influence pain perception and the brain mechanisms underlying it. Losin is also fervid about sharing scientific knowledge and enthusiasm with the general public.
Adam Hirsh, PhD

Adam Hirsh is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis, USA, where he directs the Pain Research Laboratory. His team conducts research on the biopsychosocial aspects of pain and functioning in humans. They use clinical and laboratory-based methods to study providers of pain care, patients who experience pain, and healthy laypersons. Adam achieved his PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Florida, USA, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Rehabilitation Research at the University of Washington School of Medicine, USA.

Thank you

Description

Contributors

Elizabeth Losin, PhD

Adam Hirsh, PhD