Biography
Phillip Jackson's research aims to identify the systems and networks in the brain that are involved in empathizing and portraying pain about oneself and others. Techniques used include functional magnetic resonance imaging, electroencephalography, non-invasive transcranial stimulation, and several psychophysiological measurements.
Studies from Philip Jackson's lab have helped explain why people who are often exposed to people in pain, such as healthcare professionals, will rate patients' pain differently compared to people less exposed to the pain of others. His team found variations in the neural activity of the brain, which depend on work experience, and which underlie these differences.
Why did you choose to study pain management?
I began working on pain almost by accident. During my first postdoc in 2003, we developed stimuli designed to elicit empathy, and we came up with the idea of showing images of pain. Since then, I have been interested in pain as a complex emotional state that manifests itself in various contexts involving social interactions.
