Skip to main contentLink to External Link Policy

Because of a lapse in Government funding, the information on this website may not be up to date, transactions submitted via the website may not be processed, and the agency may not be able to respond to inquiries until appropriations are enacted.

The NIH Clinical Center (the research hospital of NIH) is open. For more details about its operating status, please visit cc.nih.gov.

Updates regarding Government operating status and resumption of normal operations can be found at OPM.gov.

Información en Español
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health

Pain Research Center

Resources

The NIHPRC serves the intramural research program by providing a comprehensive environment for scientific discovery related to pain and associated symptoms. The NIHPRC is always open to developing new collaborations and supporting intramural investigators. 

Some of the services we provide include: 

  • Consultation (e.g., experimental design, sensory testing, brain imaging, data analysis plan)
  • Outpatient clinic space for testing 
  • Quantitative sensory testing assessments 
    • Thermal discrimination/pain threshold and pain tolerance 
    • Mechanical discrimination/pain threshold and pain tolerance 
    • Cold pressor/cold water bath 
    • Electric shock stimulation 
    • Pressure sensation (algometer, custom inflatable cuff, custom scale) 
    • Punctate touch/von Frey 
    • Dynamic touch/brush 
    • Vibrotactile testing 
    • Touch discrimination/two-point detection 
    • Proprioception (goniometer, grasping) 
    • Itch testing using pruritic substances 
    • Experimental allodynia/hyperalgesia testing (e.g., capsaicin model) 
    • Oral sensation 
  • Peripheral perfusion assessments (laser speckle contrast imaging) 
  • Equipment customization 
  • Assay development 
  • Pain-related neuroimaging (e.g., magnetic resonance imaging [MRI], functional magnetic resonance imaging [fMRI], functional near-infrared spectroscopy [fNIRS], electroencephalography [EEG])
  • Autonomic measurement (e.g., skin conductance, impedance cardiography, electrocardiography, respiration, pulse plethysmography, blood pressure, pupillometry) 
  • Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
  • Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS)
  • Quantitative ultrasound imaging (e.g., shear wave elastography, echo intensity)
  • Psychometric questionnaires and assessments 
  • Neurocognitive assessments

Other services include equipment operation and instruction, MRI technician, data collection and transfer, medical coverage, and data analysis. Please use this link to request a meeting or resources.