@rikepetzschner.bsky.social
Thank you to: @carneyinstitute.bsky.social, @brownuresearch.bsky.social and everybody who contributed!
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ALT: a little girl is sitting on a bed and saying `` thank you you da best '' .
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July 21, 2025 at 11:24 AM
Thank you to: @carneyinstitute.bsky.social, @brownuresearch.bsky.social and everybody who contributed!
Find it here: Altered Decision-Making Across Acute and Chronic Pain States Authors: Chad Williams*, Lucy Owen*, Chloe Gunsilius, Matthew Nassar, Frederike Petzschner (*equal contribution) 🔗 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org
July 21, 2025 at 11:24 AM
Find it here: Altered Decision-Making Across Acute and Chronic Pain States Authors: Chad Williams*, Lucy Owen*, Chloe Gunsilius, Matthew Nassar, Frederike Petzschner (*equal contribution) 🔗 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
This work was primarily conducted by two wonderful postdocs: @chadcwilliams.bsky.social and Lucy Owen
July 21, 2025 at 11:24 AM
This work was primarily conducted by two wonderful postdocs: @chadcwilliams.bsky.social and Lucy Owen
This may offer a computational marker of pain chronification—and a target for future intervention.
If we can detect when value computation shifts and what causes it, we might intervene before pain becomes chronic.
If we can detect when value computation shifts and what causes it, we might intervene before pain becomes chronic.
a cartoon of spongebob and patrick saying therapy .
ALT: a cartoon of spongebob and patrick saying therapy .
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July 21, 2025 at 11:24 AM
This may offer a computational marker of pain chronification—and a target for future intervention.
If we can detect when value computation shifts and what causes it, we might intervene before pain becomes chronic.
If we can detect when value computation shifts and what causes it, we might intervene before pain becomes chronic.
What does this mean?
It suggests that chronic pain may foster maladaptive, habit-like choices.
Even when conditions change, people may stay stuck in old avoidance patterns—because their brains rely on short-term reinforcement, not big-picture value.
It suggests that chronic pain may foster maladaptive, habit-like choices.
Even when conditions change, people may stay stuck in old avoidance patterns—because their brains rely on short-term reinforcement, not big-picture value.
a man says that absolutely means something on a netflix ad
ALT: a man says that absolutely means something on a netflix ad
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July 21, 2025 at 11:24 AM
What does this mean?
It suggests that chronic pain may foster maladaptive, habit-like choices.
Even when conditions change, people may stay stuck in old avoidance patterns—because their brains rely on short-term reinforcement, not big-picture value.
It suggests that chronic pain may foster maladaptive, habit-like choices.
Even when conditions change, people may stay stuck in old avoidance patterns—because their brains rely on short-term reinforcement, not big-picture value.
Crucially, this shift in decision-making was linked to how long someone had been in pain, not how intense the pain was.
🕒 Duration not 🔥 Severity
This supports the idea that prolonged pain gradually reconfigures cognitive processes.
🕒 Duration not 🔥 Severity
This supports the idea that prolonged pain gradually reconfigures cognitive processes.
a black and white clock with a spiral in the center
ALT: a black and white clock with a spiral in the center
media.tenor.com
July 21, 2025 at 11:24 AM
Crucially, this shift in decision-making was linked to how long someone had been in pain, not how intense the pain was.
🕒 Duration not 🔥 Severity
This supports the idea that prolonged pain gradually reconfigures cognitive processes.
🕒 Duration not 🔥 Severity
This supports the idea that prolonged pain gradually reconfigures cognitive processes.
Interestingly, the acute pain group showed an intermediate pattern.
Not quite healthy, not quite chronic.
This suggests a potential transitional cognitive profile—a window into the process of chronification.
Not quite healthy, not quite chronic.
This suggests a potential transitional cognitive profile—a window into the process of chronification.
a black background with a row of colored rectangles
ALT: a black background with a row of colored rectangles
media.tenor.com
July 21, 2025 at 11:24 AM
Interestingly, the acute pain group showed an intermediate pattern.
Not quite healthy, not quite chronic.
This suggests a potential transitional cognitive profile—a window into the process of chronification.
Not quite healthy, not quite chronic.
This suggests a potential transitional cognitive profile—a window into the process of chronification.
Computational Modeling confirmed that people with chronic pain put less weight on global expected value and more on local reinforcement history. Such that choices are more biased towards the context in which they were learned in.
July 21, 2025 at 11:24 AM
Computational Modeling confirmed that people with chronic pain put less weight on global expected value and more on local reinforcement history. Such that choices are more biased towards the context in which they were learned in.
Here is what we found:
Chronic pain systematically shifts reward-based decision-making. Compared to pain-free individuals, participants with chronic pain relied more on context-specific reinforcement history and less on globally integrated expected value.
Chronic pain systematically shifts reward-based decision-making. Compared to pain-free individuals, participants with chronic pain relied more on context-specific reinforcement history and less on globally integrated expected value.
July 21, 2025 at 11:24 AM
Here is what we found:
Chronic pain systematically shifts reward-based decision-making. Compared to pain-free individuals, participants with chronic pain relied more on context-specific reinforcement history and less on globally integrated expected value.
Chronic pain systematically shifts reward-based decision-making. Compared to pain-free individuals, participants with chronic pain relied more on context-specific reinforcement history and less on globally integrated expected value.
Chronic pain is known to impact decision-making.
But how exactly?
We studied 239 people - in a state of no pain, acute pain or chronic pain- using a reinforcement learning task that teases apart choices based on:
🧠 Global expected values
📍 Context-specific reinforcement history
But how exactly?
We studied 239 people - in a state of no pain, acute pain or chronic pain- using a reinforcement learning task that teases apart choices based on:
🧠 Global expected values
📍 Context-specific reinforcement history
July 21, 2025 at 11:24 AM
Chronic pain is known to impact decision-making.
But how exactly?
We studied 239 people - in a state of no pain, acute pain or chronic pain- using a reinforcement learning task that teases apart choices based on:
🧠 Global expected values
📍 Context-specific reinforcement history
But how exactly?
We studied 239 people - in a state of no pain, acute pain or chronic pain- using a reinforcement learning task that teases apart choices based on:
🧠 Global expected values
📍 Context-specific reinforcement history
Hi Varun, sorry but we have already filled the position.
July 1, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Hi Varun, sorry but we have already filled the position.
Loving this!
June 11, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Loving this!
Poster Numbers: 2017# Chloe Gunsilius
2029# Chad Williams @chadcwilliams.bsky.social
2020# Caroline McLaughlin
2034# Claire Dick
@carneyinstitute.bsky.social
2029# Chad Williams @chadcwilliams.bsky.social
2020# Caroline McLaughlin
2034# Claire Dick
@carneyinstitute.bsky.social
April 24, 2025 at 12:53 AM
Poster Numbers: 2017# Chloe Gunsilius
2029# Chad Williams @chadcwilliams.bsky.social
2020# Caroline McLaughlin
2034# Claire Dick
@carneyinstitute.bsky.social
2029# Chad Williams @chadcwilliams.bsky.social
2020# Caroline McLaughlin
2034# Claire Dick
@carneyinstitute.bsky.social