My primary research area is pain and its inhibition
in laboratory animals and humans. In the animal work, my students
and I study the long-term consequences of pain during early
life. We also study sex differences in pain and analgesia
processes, including hormonal modulation of adulthood sex
differences. The research involving human subjects is concerned
with the experience of pain during athletic competition. We
have shown that competing in an athletic event temporarily
reduces sensitivity to painful stimuli. This work has led
to our investigation of pain in athletes in general, and the
relationship between exercise and pain. I am also interested
in the stress response and the relationship between stress
and health. Although I am not conducting any research in psychoneuroimmunology,
it has been a long standing interest of mine, and I draw on
this field heavily in my course called "The Biopsychology
of Stress".
