Placebo Effect

Scientists map brainstem’s pain‑control network, pointing to targeted non‑opioid relief

November 05, 2025 Reported by AI Image generated by AI Fact checked

Using 7‑Tesla fMRI and a placebo paradigm, University of Sydney researchers mapped how the human brainstem modulates pain by body region. The study, published in Science on August 28, 2025, outlines a somatotopic system centered on the periaqueductal gray and rostral ventromedial medulla and suggests avenues for localized, non‑opioid treatments.