Susan T. Lubejko

Top-down control of the descending pain modulatory system drives placebo analgesia

This study identifies the neural circuits underlying placebo analgesia, showing that cortical control of the descending pain modulatory system (DPMS) drives pain suppression through endogenous opioid signaling in the periaqueductal gray.

Inputs to the locus coeruleus from the periaqueductal gray and rostroventral medulla shape opioid-mediated descending pain modulation

The paper identifies novel synaptic pathways from the periaqueductal gray and rostroventral medulla to the locus coeruleus that drive opioid-mediated antinociception.

In vivo photopharmacology with light-activated opioid drugs

This paper introduces photoactivatable opioid drugs for in vivo photopharmacology, enabling rapid, localized manipulation of opioid receptors and associated behaviors.