David Seminowicz
@daspainbrain.bsky.social
Brain imaging pain researcher.
Professor, Medical Biophysics at University of Western Ontario.
https://www.daslab.org/
https://www.knowpain.ca/
Professor, Medical Biophysics at University of Western Ontario.
https://www.daslab.org/
https://www.knowpain.ca/
Pinned
Predicting Individual Pain Sensitivity Using a Novel Cortical Biomarker Signature
This cohort study analyzes electroencephalography data from healthy participants to analyze and validate a cortical biomarker signature for pain, which comprised the measures sensorimotor peak alpha f...
jamanetwork.com
our NIH HEAL initiative funded biomarkers study now out @jama.com JAMA Neurology
open access, open data and code
w/ @drsmschabrun.bsky.social
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
open access, open data and code
w/ @drsmschabrun.bsky.social
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Reposted by David Seminowicz
The Pain Research Forum is launching a new monthly Webinar Series. The first event is this Wednesday Jan 14th, 2026 at 12 PM ET. Register using the QR code or visit painresearchforum.org @usasp.bsky.social @dimacd.bsky.social @psalmotoxin.bsky.social @iasp.bsky.social @dimacd.bsky.social
January 13, 2026 at 1:09 AM
The Pain Research Forum is launching a new monthly Webinar Series. The first event is this Wednesday Jan 14th, 2026 at 12 PM ET. Register using the QR code or visit painresearchforum.org @usasp.bsky.social @dimacd.bsky.social @psalmotoxin.bsky.social @iasp.bsky.social @dimacd.bsky.social
Reposted by David Seminowicz
Exciting new preprint on oxytocin neural circuits for massage led by Manon Bohic in Vicky Abraira’s lab. Sasha and I were glad to contribute imaging experiments to this collaborative effort, spanning mice to humans. Vicky is a master at bringing people together.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Oxytocin Modulation of Spinal Circuits Drives Therapeutic Benefits of Massage
Across social species, social touch enhances well-being and reduces pain - two seemingly distinct benefits that enhance survival. Yet where and how the nervous system integrates these functions, and w...
www.biorxiv.org
January 13, 2026 at 3:39 PM
Exciting new preprint on oxytocin neural circuits for massage led by Manon Bohic in Vicky Abraira’s lab. Sasha and I were glad to contribute imaging experiments to this collaborative effort, spanning mice to humans. Vicky is a master at bringing people together.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by David Seminowicz
New results! Faster parietal alpha frequency tightens, and slower alpha widens, the temporal window for vision–touch integration for the sense of one’s own body. Causal and computational evidence. Nature Communications
news.ki.se/how-brain-wa...
news.ki.se/how-brain-wa...
How brain waves shape our sense of self
A new study from Karolinska Institutet, published in Nature Communications, reveals how rhythmic brain waves known as alpha oscillations help us distinguish between our own body and the external world...
news.ki.se
January 12, 2026 at 2:17 PM
New results! Faster parietal alpha frequency tightens, and slower alpha widens, the temporal window for vision–touch integration for the sense of one’s own body. Causal and computational evidence. Nature Communications
news.ki.se/how-brain-wa...
news.ki.se/how-brain-wa...
so much cool new stuff in here - LUPE, AMPS, p-lick...
🤯
🤯
🧠⚡️💊New @nature.com publication !
Mimicking opioid analgesia in cortical pain circuits
We built a brain-behavior framework to decode spontaneous chronic pain in mice—and to biologically mimic morphine with a synthetic opioid gene therapy
nature.com/articles/s41...
@pennmedicine.bsky.social
Mimicking opioid analgesia in cortical pain circuits
We built a brain-behavior framework to decode spontaneous chronic pain in mice—and to biologically mimic morphine with a synthetic opioid gene therapy
nature.com/articles/s41...
@pennmedicine.bsky.social
Researchers identify the neurons involved in the emotional distress associated with pain
go.nature.com/4qIKkB8
go.nature.com/4qIKkB8
January 8, 2026 at 6:49 PM
so much cool new stuff in here - LUPE, AMPS, p-lick...
🤯
🤯
what an achievement! this dataset is going to support some massive new discoveries in pain
2,285! Recruitment is complete on the A2CPS study, and 2,285 participants who have generously donating their time, energy and blood samples to this study. Our team has also performed over 3,000 brain imaging sessions! Learn more about how YOU can use the data in your studies. a2cps.org
Acute to Chronic Pain Signatures Home
a2cps.org
January 8, 2026 at 5:39 PM
what an achievement! this dataset is going to support some massive new discoveries in pain
Reposted by David Seminowicz
This recent article published in Good Times highlights emerging research in chronic pain and features an interview from kNOw-PAIN Co-Director Dr. David Seminowicz (@daspainbrain.bsky.social)! goodtimes.ca/hope-for-chr...
Hope for Chronic-Pain Sufferers - Good Times
Over the past few years, medical science has been making new discoveries in addressing the problem of pain By Wendy Haaf Anyone who’s ever sprained an ankle or pulled a muscle knows what it’s like to ...
goodtimes.ca
January 7, 2026 at 7:44 PM
This recent article published in Good Times highlights emerging research in chronic pain and features an interview from kNOw-PAIN Co-Director Dr. David Seminowicz (@daspainbrain.bsky.social)! goodtimes.ca/hope-for-chr...
Modulation of Peak Alpha Frequency via Neurofeedback Produces Sustained Analgesia Through Parietal Plasticity
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
January 7, 2026 at 7:23 PM
Modulation of Peak Alpha Frequency via Neurofeedback Produces Sustained Analgesia Through Parietal Plasticity
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by David Seminowicz
Reminder that this job is open! If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch. Deadline is February 20th.
Great news! We are looking for an NHP neuroscientist as the assistant professor level. We have no preconceived ideas -- looking for the most exciting research going. If you have any questions, please reach out. universityaffairs.ca/search-jobs/...
Search Jobs - University Affairs
universityaffairs.ca
January 6, 2026 at 8:36 PM
Reminder that this job is open! If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch. Deadline is February 20th.
Reposted by David Seminowicz
Our new paper is out in Communications Biology!
🎬 We used movie-driven fMRI to compare functional brain networks in humans and marmosets.
Despite ~35 million years of evolution, we find striking correspondences in large-scale functional organization.
🧠🎥🐒
rdcu.be/eXIhw
🎬 We used movie-driven fMRI to compare functional brain networks in humans and marmosets.
Despite ~35 million years of evolution, we find striking correspondences in large-scale functional organization.
🧠🎥🐒
rdcu.be/eXIhw
Mapping functional homologies between human and marmoset brain networks using movie-driven ultra-high field fMRI
Communications Biology - Movie-driven fMRI revealed shared sensory but distinct higher-order brain networks in humans and marmosets, highlighting both conserved and species-specific functional...
rdcu.be
January 6, 2026 at 3:15 PM
Our new paper is out in Communications Biology!
🎬 We used movie-driven fMRI to compare functional brain networks in humans and marmosets.
Despite ~35 million years of evolution, we find striking correspondences in large-scale functional organization.
🧠🎥🐒
rdcu.be/eXIhw
🎬 We used movie-driven fMRI to compare functional brain networks in humans and marmosets.
Despite ~35 million years of evolution, we find striking correspondences in large-scale functional organization.
🧠🎥🐒
rdcu.be/eXIhw
Reposted by David Seminowicz
This paper had a pretty shocking headline result (40% of voxels!), so I dug into it, and I think it is wrong. Essentially: they compare two noisy measures and find that about 40% of voxels have different sign between the two. I think this is just noise!
Would love to hear expert views on this paper. It appears to show that the operationalization of brain activity the field has relied on for 3 decades—the BOLD response—is not actually a sensible measure of brain activity.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
BOLD signal changes can oppose oxygen metabolism across the human cortex - Nature Neuroscience
Using quantitative brain imaging, the authors show opposite fMRI BOLD signal to metabolic activity due to variable oxygen extraction across the human cortex. This questions the canonical interpretatio...
www.nature.com
January 5, 2026 at 5:22 PM
This paper had a pretty shocking headline result (40% of voxels!), so I dug into it, and I think it is wrong. Essentially: they compare two noisy measures and find that about 40% of voxels have different sign between the two. I think this is just noise!
Reposted by David Seminowicz
See Jim’s comments and the whole thread.
@jtheriault.bsky.social did a better job than I, but a few thoughts: first this doesn't move us any further than Raichle, Fox etc in the 90s showing diff effects of rCBF, rCMRO2, rCMRGlu, OEF etc. Second, for all the talk of neuronal activity, no neuronal activity was measured
January 5, 2026 at 2:43 PM
See Jim’s comments and the whole thread.
Reposted by David Seminowicz
Awesome article on medical breakthroughs that came from basic neuroscience research in rodents. Major success examples in postpartum depression, non-opioid pain and migraine treatment.
This is exactly why funding basic science is so important!
www.thetransmitter.org/drug-develop...
This is exactly why funding basic science is so important!
www.thetransmitter.org/drug-develop...
How basic neuroscience has paved the path to new drugs
A growing list of medications—such as zuranolone for postpartum depression, suzetrigine for pain, and the gepants class of migraine medicines—exist because of insights from basic research.
www.thetransmitter.org
December 31, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Awesome article on medical breakthroughs that came from basic neuroscience research in rodents. Major success examples in postpartum depression, non-opioid pain and migraine treatment.
This is exactly why funding basic science is so important!
www.thetransmitter.org/drug-develop...
This is exactly why funding basic science is so important!
www.thetransmitter.org/drug-develop...
Reposted by David Seminowicz
Glad to see this published in 2025 so I can wipe it from my memory and never have to think about it again after midnight.
Who reviews this junk?
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Who reviews this junk?
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
TransBrain: a computational framework for translating brain-wide phenotypes between humans and mice - Nature Methods
TransBrain translates brain phenotypes between mouse and human via homology mapping, thus making it possible to capitalize on the wealth of knowledge about the mouse brain and gain insights into the h...
www.nature.com
December 31, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Glad to see this published in 2025 so I can wipe it from my memory and never have to think about it again after midnight.
Who reviews this junk?
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Who reviews this junk?
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by David Seminowicz
A new story at The Transmitter about the PRECISION Human Pain Network's new DRG cell atlas: www.thetransmitter.org/peripheral-n... So rewarding to hear about colleagues who are already using our datasets in their own work.
‘Unprecedented’ dorsal root ganglion atlas captures 22 types of human sensory neurons
The atlas also offers up molecular and cellular targets for new pain therapies.
www.thetransmitter.org
December 23, 2025 at 4:16 PM
A new story at The Transmitter about the PRECISION Human Pain Network's new DRG cell atlas: www.thetransmitter.org/peripheral-n... So rewarding to hear about colleagues who are already using our datasets in their own work.
i've seen this first-hand hand now. so much effort to put together a competitive grant and 99% of applicants will have nothing to show for it
This report in Nature on the costs of competing for & administering scientific grants is shocking: "In other words, European taxpayers will have spent more on the funding process than on the funding itself, and the scientific ecosystem has been drained." www.nature.com/articles/d41... 🧪
Point of no returns: researchers are crossing a threshold in the fight for funding
With so little money to go round, the costs of competing for grants can exceed what the grants are worth. When that happens, nobody wins.
www.nature.com
December 20, 2025 at 12:58 PM
i've seen this first-hand hand now. so much effort to put together a competitive grant and 99% of applicants will have nothing to show for it
Reposted by David Seminowicz
Hiring a Postdoc at UC San Diego to assist with clinical trials and neuroscience of Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy for addiction. Clinical psychology or psychiatry training preferred. Postdoc will provide psychedelic-assisted therapy sessions, analyze data, and write papers. Competitive salary! DM me.
December 19, 2025 at 6:29 AM
Hiring a Postdoc at UC San Diego to assist with clinical trials and neuroscience of Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy for addiction. Clinical psychology or psychiatry training preferred. Postdoc will provide psychedelic-assisted therapy sessions, analyze data, and write papers. Competitive salary! DM me.
Reposted by David Seminowicz
Excited to share our new open dataset — CoSpine!😃
The first simultaneous brain–spinal cord fMRI dataset covering pain & motor tasks, now on
@openneuro.bsky.social
Paper in ScientificData👇
🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
The first simultaneous brain–spinal cord fMRI dataset covering pain & motor tasks, now on
@openneuro.bsky.social
Paper in ScientificData👇
🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
November 7, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Excited to share our new open dataset — CoSpine!😃
The first simultaneous brain–spinal cord fMRI dataset covering pain & motor tasks, now on
@openneuro.bsky.social
Paper in ScientificData👇
🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
The first simultaneous brain–spinal cord fMRI dataset covering pain & motor tasks, now on
@openneuro.bsky.social
Paper in ScientificData👇
🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by David Seminowicz
MSC News: The publication of a roadmap for HEAL research earlier this year sets the stage for 2026 and beyond. #painresearch #migraineresearch #headacheresearch
migrainecollaborative.org/reason-for-o...
migrainecollaborative.org/reason-for-o...
Reason for Optimism: The HEAL Initiative Prepares for the Future - Migraine Science Collaborative
The publication of a roadmap for HEAL research earlier this year sets the stage for 2026 and beyond.
migrainecollaborative.org
December 18, 2025 at 4:03 PM
MSC News: The publication of a roadmap for HEAL research earlier this year sets the stage for 2026 and beyond. #painresearch #migraineresearch #headacheresearch
migrainecollaborative.org/reason-for-o...
migrainecollaborative.org/reason-for-o...
time to update my fMRI course slides (again)
fMRI signals “up,” but neural metabolism might be going “down.”
In our @natneuro.nature.com paper, we demonstrate that about 40% of voxels with robust BOLD responses exhibit opposite oxygen metabolism, revealing two distinct hemodynamic modes.
rdcu.be/eUPO8
funds @erc.europa.eu
#neuroskyence 🧵:
In our @natneuro.nature.com paper, we demonstrate that about 40% of voxels with robust BOLD responses exhibit opposite oxygen metabolism, revealing two distinct hemodynamic modes.
rdcu.be/eUPO8
funds @erc.europa.eu
#neuroskyence 🧵:
December 17, 2025 at 2:49 PM
time to update my fMRI course slides (again)
Reposted by David Seminowicz
My friend @alexchesler.bsky.social has left the NIH to become VP of Pain Research at Vertex. I am glad to welcome him to San Diego. Exciting for him and for Vertex. But NIH loses one of its superstars. Can’t help but wonder whether this government’s anti-science policies made that decision easier.
Some news. Exciting new challenges and opportunities ahead.
December 17, 2025 at 4:20 AM
My friend @alexchesler.bsky.social has left the NIH to become VP of Pain Research at Vertex. I am glad to welcome him to San Diego. Exciting for him and for Vertex. But NIH loses one of its superstars. Can’t help but wonder whether this government’s anti-science policies made that decision easier.
Reposted by David Seminowicz
End of an era. Major loss for NIH and our tiny pain program at NCCIH. wishing you all the best in your next steps, @alexchesler.bsky.social
Some news. Exciting new challenges and opportunities ahead.
December 17, 2025 at 10:23 AM
End of an era. Major loss for NIH and our tiny pain program at NCCIH. wishing you all the best in your next steps, @alexchesler.bsky.social
Reposted by David Seminowicz
Come work with us. Huge strengths in MRI, neuroscience and musculoskeletal health and their intersections such as pain, child development or ageing. Preclinical and clinical research and translation are also big opportunities. Shoot me a note if you have questions.
🚀 Launched! Here’s our call for applicants to the Canada Impact+ Research Chairs Program at @westernu.ca. This is a remarkable opportunity for us to recruit outstanding scholars who are currently working internationally:
www.uwo.ca/research/can...
www.uwo.ca/research/can...
Canada-Impact-Plus - Research - Western University
www.uwo.ca
December 17, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Come work with us. Huge strengths in MRI, neuroscience and musculoskeletal health and their intersections such as pain, child development or ageing. Preclinical and clinical research and translation are also big opportunities. Shoot me a note if you have questions.
Reposted by David Seminowicz
Diffusion-weighted steady-state free precession imaging in the ex vivo macaque brain on a 10.5T human MRI scanner https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.12.694017v1
December 16, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Diffusion-weighted steady-state free precession imaging in the ex vivo macaque brain on a 10.5T human MRI scanner https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.12.694017v1
Reposted by David Seminowicz
A preprint from my lab @yalepharm.bsky.social: doi.org/10.1101/2025...
show molecular mechanisms of uncoupling nociceptive and neurotrophic TrkA signaling, using #singleMolecule #microscopy, #cryoEM, #electrophysiology, #signaling, offering a clear blueprint to target this long sought-after pathway!
show molecular mechanisms of uncoupling nociceptive and neurotrophic TrkA signaling, using #singleMolecule #microscopy, #cryoEM, #electrophysiology, #signaling, offering a clear blueprint to target this long sought-after pathway!
A painless nerve growth factor variant uncouples nociceptive and neurotrophic TrkA signaling
Nerve growth factor (NGF) binding to the receptor tyrosine kinase, TrkA, drives neurotrophic signaling essential for neuronal development and survival. This interaction simultaneously drives periphera...
doi.org
December 15, 2025 at 10:04 PM
A preprint from my lab @yalepharm.bsky.social: doi.org/10.1101/2025...
show molecular mechanisms of uncoupling nociceptive and neurotrophic TrkA signaling, using #singleMolecule #microscopy, #cryoEM, #electrophysiology, #signaling, offering a clear blueprint to target this long sought-after pathway!
show molecular mechanisms of uncoupling nociceptive and neurotrophic TrkA signaling, using #singleMolecule #microscopy, #cryoEM, #electrophysiology, #signaling, offering a clear blueprint to target this long sought-after pathway!
Reposted by David Seminowicz
I am so excited to share our newest preprint, inspired by @tinalonsdorf.bsky.social, “A multiverse approach to heat-evoked skin conductance analysis: Evaluating the influence of analytic pipeline on associations between skin conductance and pain osf.io/preprints/ps...
OSF
osf.io
December 15, 2025 at 3:03 PM
I am so excited to share our newest preprint, inspired by @tinalonsdorf.bsky.social, “A multiverse approach to heat-evoked skin conductance analysis: Evaluating the influence of analytic pipeline on associations between skin conductance and pain osf.io/preprints/ps...