About the Center

The Center for Pain Research and Behavioral Health, directed by Dr. Michael E. Robinson is housed in the Dept. of Clinical and Health Psychology at the University of Florida. The Center is dedicated to the investigation and understanding of the experience of pain in humans. Projects range from psychophysical studies of pain perception to examinations of the interaction between pain and substance use.

Research Programs

  • Mechanisms, efficacy, and acceptability of placebo analgesia
  • Functional Imaging of Pain and Related Phenomena
  • Gender and sex differences in pain perception and chronic pain complaint
  • Clinical/Experimental Pain Perception: The application of laboratory psychophysics to clinically relevant stimulation in understanding pain perception in chronic pain sufferers
  • Mechanisms underlying the acute analgesic effects of alcohol
  • Subjective response to alcohol use
  • Pain as an antecedent for the use of alcohol and other substances
  • Pain in individuals with substance use disorders
  • Behavioral strategies to improve endogenous pain modulation
  • Coping Styles and chronic pain
  • Emotional (negative affect) components of chronic pain
  • Prediction of treatment outcome and compliance in chronic pain
  • Effects of long-term opioid use for chronic pain
  • Effects of manual therapies on musculoskeletal pain
  • Decision making in use of medications for pain control
  • Patient Centered Outcomes