Colorado researchers find brain 'pain switch'
Get the Health newsletter
Daily health & science — research, biotech, public health, the studies worth knowing. Free.
- University of Colorado Boulder discovered that deactivating the caudal granular insular cortex (CGIC) in rodents blocks the formation of chronic pain and can reverse established pain.
- Linda Watkins reported that silencing the CGIC pathway eliminates chronic pain in animal models, indicating a direct therapeutic target.
- Jayson Ball employed state‑of‑the‑art neural control techniques to map the CGIC circuit, calling the current period a “gold rush of neuroscience.”
- Neuralink hired Jayson Ball, signaling commercial interest in translating the CGIC findings into brain‑machine‑interface therapies.
- CDC reports that about 25% of U.S. adults experience chronic pain, with nearly 10% saying it disrupts daily activities.
Why it matters: Patients with chronic pain (≈25% of adults) will gain a non‑opioid therapy, while opioid manufacturers will lose sales; reducing pain will cut healthcare costs and improve productivity.
