This work was a collaboration with @laurenatlas.bsky.social & Dave Finn (@universityofgalway.bsky.social), and led by S. Alisona Fatemi & Spencer Abssy.
Stay tuned we have parts 2 & 3 coming out soon!
PAIN 20 April 2026
@massih.bsky.social et al. find that baseline circulating endocannabinoid ligand concentrations are associated with individual differences in pressure pain threshold, but not thermal thresholds/tolerance, or temporal summation of pain. Learn more in #PAIN bit.ly/4tEJzdL
Not sure why it says 2024. It’s definitely 2026!
Check out the oitstanding submissions for the @canadianpain.bsky.social’s Art Awards. CPS Members can vote for their top choice.
www.canadianpainsociety.ca/previoussubm...
Looking forward to seeing you all in Quebec City in 2 weeks!
#CanPain26 #CPS_ASM26 #🇨🇦PainSociety
My brilliant sister @yasmoayedi.bsky.social has published some awesome work about how smartwatches can help save lives of folks with heart failure.
Check it out
is there a better day to decide to learn the irish language?
here is a cbc story on those who have decided to take up the challenge.
For St-Patrick’s day, @padraigmoran.bsky.social produced a piece on the resurgence of the Irish language for CBC’s the Current. Check it out on cbc.ca/listen. On at 9:05 local time on the app. Otherwise should be available on the show feed all day.
@aircanada.bsky.social’s new safety video is one large Disney parks ad. Kinda gross, given the tariffs and threats from the US.
Maybe read the room, AC.
What a lovely (and remarkably productive) week in London.
Great new paper led by @bringmannlaura.bsky.social, highlight the need to collect qualitative data in ESM / EMA research.
#PsychSciSky 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
This could be interpreted as an unmasking effect: in the absence of a robust opioidergic response, the contribution of eCBs becomes apparent.
Let us know what you think!
• When increases in beta-endorphin levels are high, then eCBs do not contribute to placebo analgesia
• When there is little
increase in placebo-induced beta-endorphin levels, then eCBs contribute to placebo analgesia.
When we modeled endocannabinoids and beta-endorphins together,
we found that beta-endorphins moderated the effect of FAAH substrates.
Changes in FAAH substrates were associated with individual differences in placebo analgesia.
There was no effect of 2-AG
Surprisingly, placebo-test-related changes in circulating beta-endorphins alone were not associated with individual differences in placebo analgesia.
Baseline FAAH substrates and 2-AG did not predict individual differences in placebo analgesia.
We also measured circulating beta-endorphins. Baseline beta-endorphins did not predict placebo analgesia.
We first investigated whether circulating endocannabinoids were associated with individual differences in placebo analgesia. As AEA, OEA, and PEA are all FAAH substrates, and circulating levels are collinear, we computed a composite measure with PCA - “FAAH substrates”
There are 2 endocannabinoid ligands: anandamide (AEA) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol. There are also related N-acylethanolamines (OEA, PEA). These are also FAAH substrates - the enzyme that breaks down AEA.
Evidence shows that those with functional variants of FAAH have reduced pain sensitivity.
And we elicited robust placebo analgesia, but with individual differences - both responders and non-responders
Let me walk you through the findings:
First, we use a standard placebo analgesia paradigm
Check out our latest paper:
The Contribution of endocannabinoids to placebo analgesia
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
This is an ongoing collaboration with David Finn & @laurenatlas.bsky.social
Take away: beta-endorphins gate the contributions of endocannabinoids to placebo analgesia.
Be sure to cast your vote for the next President-Elect of the @canadianpain.bsky.social!
Replace any x.com link with xcancel.com and the same rest of the URL. Try it out. No need for an account, nor to add to X’s traffic.
Legitimate question for scientists:
What’s a reasonable window for a desk reject?
I’ve had hours to weeks…
I just had one that took 21 days at a journal with a pretty high IF. I think that’s way too long, but wanted to get others’ impression.
Dalhousie University is hiring. We’re recruiting up to 30 tenure and tenure-track faculty supported by Canada Global Impact+ Research Talent Initiative and a $1.7B federal investment. Curious about building your next chapter in Canada? Apply by Jan. 19: www.dal.ca/research-recruitment
If you're (1) into nhp neurophysiology and/or biological motor control, (2) a foreign big shot and (3) interested in moving here, please reach out -- this new program looks extremely attractive (min. $8M over 8y)! www.uwo.ca/research/can...
Mind blown!
Did you know about EMERGE, this amazing resource on self-report scales? All items listed and psychometric properties assessed, in ONE place & user friendly to boot
emerge.ucsd.edu/emerge-searc...
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...
Not all pain is created equal: stepping on a nail feels different from a stomachache. We know there are many nociceptor types, but a key question remains: how is mechanical pain encoded across the body by those sensory neurons? Our new work helps answer this. 1/8
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
The hero who disarmed one of the terrorists in Sydney turned out to be 43-year-old Ahmed al-Ahmed — a fruit shop owner and father of two.
He was shot twice and is currently in hospital. He is scheduled to undergo surgery.
He had no experience with weapons of any kind.
