Plants don’t have nociceptors or brains, meaning they can’t feel pain or process stimuli like animals do. Stop pretending plants and animals are the same.
November 27, 2024 at 1:45 PM
Plants don’t have nociceptors or brains, meaning they can’t feel pain or process stimuli like animals do. Stop pretending plants and animals are the same.
oh, so i’m just supposed to ignore my personal experiences at denny’s when im writing about nociceptors?
November 18, 2023 at 4:46 PM
oh, so i’m just supposed to ignore my personal experiences at denny’s when im writing about nociceptors?
"these horrible nodes are called nociceptors, if ya nasty"
I'm having a fucking mental break
I'm having a fucking mental break
November 18, 2023 at 8:37 PM
"these horrible nodes are called nociceptors, if ya nasty"
I'm having a fucking mental break
I'm having a fucking mental break
nice demonstration of the efferent function of nociceptors and how that is augmented by inflammation. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... Alex Binshtok's lab does really great work, designing very clever experiments.
also i am going to keep posting this stuff to maintain my sanity.
also i am going to keep posting this stuff to maintain my sanity.
Efferent signaling along nociceptive peripheral terminals in vivo is enhanced during inflammation
Primary nociceptors are essentially characterized as afferent neurons carrying noxious sensory information from the periphery to the CNS. However, the information flow on primary nociceptors is bidire...
www.biorxiv.org
February 2, 2025 at 1:47 AM
nice demonstration of the efferent function of nociceptors and how that is augmented by inflammation. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... Alex Binshtok's lab does really great work, designing very clever experiments.
also i am going to keep posting this stuff to maintain my sanity.
also i am going to keep posting this stuff to maintain my sanity.
Congratulations to so many #PainResearch folks on this very cool study!!! www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Molecular architecture of human dermal sleeping nociceptors
Human dermal sleeping nociceptors display ongoing activity in neuropathic pain, affecting 10% of the population. Despite advances in rodents, a molecu…
www.sciencedirect.com
February 4, 2026 at 8:24 PM
Congratulations to so many #PainResearch folks on this very cool study!!! www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Immunofluorescence for sensory neurons (soma and axons; green), nociceptors (red), and nuclei (blue) in the human dorsal root ganglion!
Image credit: Adriana Nwasinachi Ezeji
#Painneuroscience #Painresearch #Neuroscience #Scicomm
Image credit: Adriana Nwasinachi Ezeji
#Painneuroscience #Painresearch #Neuroscience #Scicomm
December 19, 2024 at 10:54 PM
Immunofluorescence for sensory neurons (soma and axons; green), nociceptors (red), and nuclei (blue) in the human dorsal root ganglion!
Image credit: Adriana Nwasinachi Ezeji
#Painneuroscience #Painresearch #Neuroscience #Scicomm
Image credit: Adriana Nwasinachi Ezeji
#Painneuroscience #Painresearch #Neuroscience #Scicomm
Plants don’t have nociceptors or brains, meaning they can’t feel pain or process stimuli like animals do. Stop pretending plants and animals are the same.
April 6, 2026 at 11:02 PM
Plants don’t have nociceptors or brains, meaning they can’t feel pain or process stimuli like animals do. Stop pretending plants and animals are the same.
ow my nociceptors
June 8, 2024 at 5:48 PM
ow my nociceptors
Neither "best known" or "most proud" (though I am proud of it) but "paper I most want to follow-up":
I want a clear answer to whether crustaceans have nociceptors!
I want to find those neurons, record from them, stain them, see what behaviours they cause in crusties! doi.org/10.1242/bio....
I want a clear answer to whether crustaceans have nociceptors!
I want to find those neurons, record from them, stain them, see what behaviours they cause in crusties! doi.org/10.1242/bio....
Can crayfish take the heat? Procambarus clarkii show nociceptive behaviour to high temperature stimuli, but not low temperature or chemical stimuli
Nociceptors are sensory neurons that are tuned to tissue damage. In many species, nociceptors are often stimulated by noxious extreme temperatures and by chemical agonists that do not damage tissue (e...
doi.org
December 4, 2024 at 4:29 PM
Neither "best known" or "most proud" (though I am proud of it) but "paper I most want to follow-up":
I want a clear answer to whether crustaceans have nociceptors!
I want to find those neurons, record from them, stain them, see what behaviours they cause in crusties! doi.org/10.1242/bio....
I want a clear answer to whether crustaceans have nociceptors!
I want to find those neurons, record from them, stain them, see what behaviours they cause in crusties! doi.org/10.1242/bio....
BOOM! Great stuff on the truncated TrkB isoform in nociception and nociceptors from @shivanibr.bsky.social's lab #painresearch www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Truncated TrkB: The predominant TrkB Isoform in Nociceptors
Truncated form of the tropomyosin receptor kinase B isoform (TrkBT1), traditionally considered a dominant-negative regulator of full-length TrkB (TrkBTK+), remains poorly understood in peripheral sens...
www.biorxiv.org
December 27, 2024 at 11:54 PM
BOOM! Great stuff on the truncated TrkB isoform in nociception and nociceptors from @shivanibr.bsky.social's lab #painresearch www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Neuron signaling supports the growth of endomeriosis lesions. Human and mouse endo lesions stain positive for CGRP (generalized and nociceptor) and RAMP1 (infiltrating cells)
Treatments that block nociceptors ->> reduced lesion size!
Treatments that block nociceptors ->> reduced lesion size!
September 23, 2026 at 8:29 PM
Neuron signaling supports the growth of endomeriosis lesions. Human and mouse endo lesions stain positive for CGRP (generalized and nociceptor) and RAMP1 (infiltrating cells)
Treatments that block nociceptors ->> reduced lesion size!
Treatments that block nociceptors ->> reduced lesion size!
How is it that some nociceptors—the sensory neurons that detect heat, chemical irritants and toxins—can withstand a lifespan’s worth of exposure to noxious stimuli, whereas others die? New findings reveal how they do it.
By @vcallier.bsky.social
#neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/sensory-syst...
By @vcallier.bsky.social
#neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/sensory-syst...
Neurons modulate sensitivity via electron transport chain
Some nociceptors can survive a lifetime’s worth of exposure to noxious stimuli by reducing their mitochondria’s production of reactive oxygen species.
www.thetransmitter.org
October 22, 2025 at 4:57 PM
How is it that some nociceptors—the sensory neurons that detect heat, chemical irritants and toxins—can withstand a lifespan’s worth of exposure to noxious stimuli, whereas others die? New findings reveal how they do it.
By @vcallier.bsky.social
#neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/sensory-syst...
By @vcallier.bsky.social
#neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/sensory-syst...
Our paper in Journal of Pain challenges old labels: TrkB isnt just an A-LTMR marker. Its truncated isoform is expressed and functional in trigeminal nociceptors, opening new avenues for studying the receptor in pathological pain #painresearch www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Truncated TrkB: The predominant TrkB isoform in nociceptors
Truncated TrkB (TrkBT1), traditionally considered a dominant-negative regulator of full-length TrkB (TrkBTK+), remains poorly understood in peripheral…
www.sciencedirect.com
May 17, 2025 at 10:49 PM
Our paper in Journal of Pain challenges old labels: TrkB isnt just an A-LTMR marker. Its truncated isoform is expressed and functional in trigeminal nociceptors, opening new avenues for studying the receptor in pathological pain #painresearch www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Molecular architecture of human dermal sleeping nociceptors https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.12.20.629638v1
December 21, 2024 at 3:20 AM
Molecular architecture of human dermal sleeping nociceptors https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.12.20.629638v1
Interestingly, you can induce sensitization.
Inflammation releases prostaglandins, which make these nociceptors more sensitive.
This is why inflamed areas feel hot: your thermal nociceptors start firing more easily than normal.
Inflammation releases prostaglandins, which make these nociceptors more sensitive.
This is why inflamed areas feel hot: your thermal nociceptors start firing more easily than normal.
April 10, 2024 at 4:33 AM
Interestingly, you can induce sensitization.
Inflammation releases prostaglandins, which make these nociceptors more sensitive.
This is why inflamed areas feel hot: your thermal nociceptors start firing more easily than normal.
Inflammation releases prostaglandins, which make these nociceptors more sensitive.
This is why inflamed areas feel hot: your thermal nociceptors start firing more easily than normal.
Preprint alert: Using human microneurography protocols in PatchSeq experiments on pig DRGs we identify the molecular identity of human dermal CMi-fibers (sleeping nociceptors). We provide an integrated pig-human-more transcriptomic atlas and identify OSMR and SST as marker, backed by human expts.
Molecular architecture of human dermal sleeping nociceptors https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.12.20.629638v1
December 22, 2024 at 5:56 PM
Preprint alert: Using human microneurography protocols in PatchSeq experiments on pig DRGs we identify the molecular identity of human dermal CMi-fibers (sleeping nociceptors). We provide an integrated pig-human-more transcriptomic atlas and identify OSMR and SST as marker, backed by human expts.
You have thermally-stimulated nociceptors.
One, TRPV1, fires at 42°C. Temperatures above this are perceived as painful in addition to hot.
Your thermal nociceptors can become desensitized: cook's hands, etc.
These also are targeted by capsaicin, wasabi, etc
One, TRPV1, fires at 42°C. Temperatures above this are perceived as painful in addition to hot.
Your thermal nociceptors can become desensitized: cook's hands, etc.
These also are targeted by capsaicin, wasabi, etc
April 10, 2024 at 4:33 AM
You have thermally-stimulated nociceptors.
One, TRPV1, fires at 42°C. Temperatures above this are perceived as painful in addition to hot.
Your thermal nociceptors can become desensitized: cook's hands, etc.
These also are targeted by capsaicin, wasabi, etc
One, TRPV1, fires at 42°C. Temperatures above this are perceived as painful in addition to hot.
Your thermal nociceptors can become desensitized: cook's hands, etc.
These also are targeted by capsaicin, wasabi, etc
Pain-sensing neurons in the intestines play an important role in defending the body from threats.
New study led by the Artis Lab at @weillcornell.bsky.social shows TRPV1+ nociceptors in the gut activate tuft cells, leading to expulsion of parasites.
🔗 https://go.nature.com/4jTvO7k
New study led by the Artis Lab at @weillcornell.bsky.social shows TRPV1+ nociceptors in the gut activate tuft cells, leading to expulsion of parasites.
🔗 https://go.nature.com/4jTvO7k
January 21, 2026 at 5:50 PM
Pain-sensing neurons in the intestines play an important role in defending the body from threats.
New study led by the Artis Lab at @weillcornell.bsky.social shows TRPV1+ nociceptors in the gut activate tuft cells, leading to expulsion of parasites.
🔗 https://go.nature.com/4jTvO7k
New study led by the Artis Lab at @weillcornell.bsky.social shows TRPV1+ nociceptors in the gut activate tuft cells, leading to expulsion of parasites.
🔗 https://go.nature.com/4jTvO7k
Nociceptors use multiple neurotransmitters to drive pain https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.09.675093v1
September 10, 2025 at 8:15 AM
Nociceptors use multiple neurotransmitters to drive pain https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.09.675093v1
A novel mechanism behind episodic neuropathic pain—the interaction between dynamic blood vessel movements and Piezo2 mechanoreceptors in sensory neurons #piezo2 #neuropathicpain #nociceptors buff.ly/e5os312 @tbertalab.bsky.social
buff.ly
March 29, 2025 at 4:03 PM
A novel mechanism behind episodic neuropathic pain—the interaction between dynamic blood vessel movements and Piezo2 mechanoreceptors in sensory neurons #piezo2 #neuropathicpain #nociceptors buff.ly/e5os312 @tbertalab.bsky.social
Not shocking, but important: nociceptors fire → glutamate is released — with or without neuropeptides like SP or CGRP. This paper pushes the field past the idea that pain = peripheral neuropeptide release. Time to stop oversimplifying pain circuits and behaviors to single-molecule targets
Turns out, two of pain’s most famous messengers — Substance P and CGRPα — might not be so essential after all. Mice missing both still felt pain just fine, challenging decades of assumptions about how pain signals travel.
buff.ly/ypISrtx
buff.ly/ypISrtx
April 20, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Not shocking, but important: nociceptors fire → glutamate is released — with or without neuropeptides like SP or CGRP. This paper pushes the field past the idea that pain = peripheral neuropeptide release. Time to stop oversimplifying pain circuits and behaviors to single-molecule targets
📣Excited to share our new preprint!
We identify synaptic vesicle endocytosis in nociceptors as a key driver of ongoing pain, and show that LNP‑delivered CRISPR/dCas9 repression of this pathway produces durable analgesia across multiple pain models.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
We identify synaptic vesicle endocytosis in nociceptors as a key driver of ongoing pain, and show that LNP‑delivered CRISPR/dCas9 repression of this pathway produces durable analgesia across multiple pain models.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Targeting Synaptic Vesicle Endocytosis in Nociceptors Provides Sustained Pain Relief
Endocytosis replenishes synaptic vesicle (SV) pools that are required for persistent transmission of chronic pain signals within nociceptive spinal circuits. The nociceptor-specific contribution of SV...
www.biorxiv.org
June 23, 2026 at 1:37 PM
📣Excited to share our new preprint!
We identify synaptic vesicle endocytosis in nociceptors as a key driver of ongoing pain, and show that LNP‑delivered CRISPR/dCas9 repression of this pathway produces durable analgesia across multiple pain models.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
We identify synaptic vesicle endocytosis in nociceptors as a key driver of ongoing pain, and show that LNP‑delivered CRISPR/dCas9 repression of this pathway produces durable analgesia across multiple pain models.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Some get really hung up on senses vs. perception.
Organism's *senses* are based on specialized cells called receptors.
Human skin three types of receptors for four sensations:
- Mechanoreceptors, Thermoreceptors, & Nociceptors
for pain, pressure, warmth, & cold.
bsky.app/profile/auti...
Organism's *senses* are based on specialized cells called receptors.
Human skin three types of receptors for four sensations:
- Mechanoreceptors, Thermoreceptors, & Nociceptors
for pain, pressure, warmth, & cold.
bsky.app/profile/auti...
Random Fact:
Human skin can’t actually sense “wetness”
The sensation that people typically feel when contacting “wet” things is the temperature difference of the liquid.
(This is why it’s relatively common for people to not know they are bleeding as blood is the literal temperature of the body)
Human skin can’t actually sense “wetness”
The sensation that people typically feel when contacting “wet” things is the temperature difference of the liquid.
(This is why it’s relatively common for people to not know they are bleeding as blood is the literal temperature of the body)
February 17, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Some get really hung up on senses vs. perception.
Organism's *senses* are based on specialized cells called receptors.
Human skin three types of receptors for four sensations:
- Mechanoreceptors, Thermoreceptors, & Nociceptors
for pain, pressure, warmth, & cold.
bsky.app/profile/auti...
Organism's *senses* are based on specialized cells called receptors.
Human skin three types of receptors for four sensations:
- Mechanoreceptors, Thermoreceptors, & Nociceptors
for pain, pressure, warmth, & cold.
bsky.app/profile/auti...
TRPV1 nociceptors are used to regulate your body temperature.
Capsaicin, which densensitizes them, sends a misleading signal that you are overheating, skewing your thermoregulation, and this is why spicy foods make you sweat.
Capsaicin, which densensitizes them, sends a misleading signal that you are overheating, skewing your thermoregulation, and this is why spicy foods make you sweat.
April 10, 2024 at 4:34 AM
TRPV1 nociceptors are used to regulate your body temperature.
Capsaicin, which densensitizes them, sends a misleading signal that you are overheating, skewing your thermoregulation, and this is why spicy foods make you sweat.
Capsaicin, which densensitizes them, sends a misleading signal that you are overheating, skewing your thermoregulation, and this is why spicy foods make you sweat.
Pain-sensing neurons in the intestines play an important role in defending the body from threats.
New study led by the Artis Lab at @weillcornell.bsky.social shows TRPV1+ nociceptors in the gut activate tuft cells, leading to expulsion of parasites.
🔗 https://go.nature.com/4jTvO7k
New study led by the Artis Lab at @weillcornell.bsky.social shows TRPV1+ nociceptors in the gut activate tuft cells, leading to expulsion of parasites.
🔗 https://go.nature.com/4jTvO7k
January 29, 2026 at 5:55 PM
Pain-sensing neurons in the intestines play an important role in defending the body from threats.
New study led by the Artis Lab at @weillcornell.bsky.social shows TRPV1+ nociceptors in the gut activate tuft cells, leading to expulsion of parasites.
🔗 https://go.nature.com/4jTvO7k
New study led by the Artis Lab at @weillcornell.bsky.social shows TRPV1+ nociceptors in the gut activate tuft cells, leading to expulsion of parasites.
🔗 https://go.nature.com/4jTvO7k