When Will We Go Beyond Morphine? | Prof. Allan Basbaum

In this episode, Prof. Allan Basbaum and I discuss the neuroscience of pain and humanity’s attempts to discover a drug beyond morphine that is effective but with minimal side effects. We talk about nociceptors, pain pathways, and different types of pain, alongside recent developments in drug design and emerging imaging technologies. We end the podcast with Prof. Allan’s advice for young aspiring scientists, including why research that appears less clinically relevant can still lead to major breakthroughs. 🎧Find Wandering Thoughts Everywhere 👇 📸 Instagram 👉 https://www.instagram.com/wanderingthoughts_0?igsh=MWR2cmZmeHA3amRwcg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr 🐣 X https://x.com/wanderingthoug?s=21 🎵 Spotify Podcast 👉 https://open.spotify.com/show/4Imus26CuCFZeqyF8vXT7T?si=D_KLjDQNS9-Q3LONY05nJA 🍎 Apple Podcasts 👉 https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/wandering-thoughts/id1866596406 🎶 Amazon Music 👉 https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/ec430ffc-ca74-4c98-94fe-5bdc7e47dc95/WANDERING-THOUGHTS?ref=dm_sh_y1wCAXab76oLA6sM3y1W5ApfN 🎵 TikTok 👉 https://www.tiktok.com/@wanderingthoughtson0?_r=1&_t=ZN-93yNCxHuniw 🌐 Website 👉 https://www.wanderingthoughtson.com 📘Facebook 👉 https://www.facebook.com/share/1DNdfmCPnc/?mibextid=wwXIfr 🖇️LinkedIn 👉 https://www.linkedin.com/company/wanderingthoughtson/ 🔗Linktree 👉https://linktr.ee/wanderingthoughts Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 00:45 Prof. Allan's Background & Expertise 1:50 Why did Prof. Allan choose to work on pain? 7:13 A definition for Pain 9:42 Preclinical models & Clinical Trials 14:03 The best drug for pain 17:30 Drugs & Side Effects 22:40 Keeping a Drug outside the brain 26:40 Beyond morphine 29:35 Pain pathways & new technologies 36:35 Optical imaging 40:57 Nociceptors & “Pain Fibers” 44:20 Developing Drugs - Recent Advancements 47:25 How Anticonvulsants & Antidepressants Work 52:01 Types Of Pain 54:00 Nociplastic Pain 57:05 Allodynia & Hyperalgesia 1:00:42 Prof Basbaum’s Current Work 1:04:55 Advice to Young Aspiring Scientists 1:11:03 Ibuprofen Rap - (Tik Tok Video)