For the first time ever, scientists have recreated the brain’s pain-sensing circuit using human cells grown in a laboratory.
The major breakthrough, led by Stanford University researchers, could help develop safer, more effective treatments for pain disorders.
This lab-built system, called a “sensory assembloid”, mimics how pain signals travel from the skin to the brain.
Professor Sergiu Pasca, who led the study, said the circuits don’t feel pain themselves but do transmit the nerve signals.
“These signals must still be processed by brain centres before we experience pain as unpleasant or distressing,” he explained.
Until now, such nerve activity had never been observed travelling across the full human pain pathway in a lab setting.
Importantly, the system allows testing without causing harm to animals, marking a new step in ethical medical research.
The assembloid model could now be used to test painkillers, study nerve injuries or tailor treatments for individual patients.
It may also help uncover why some people suffer long-term pain, even after the original injury has healed.
“Pain is a huge health problem,” said Dr Vivianne Tawfik, a pain expert not involved in the study.
She noted that more than 116 million Americans live with chronic pain, often with no reliable treatment options.
The study, titled Human assembloid model of the ascending neural sensory pathway, was published in Nature on 9 April.
This innovation brings hope to millions and may shape the future of pain medicine for years to come.
