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How do babies feel pain?

What does our research on baby pain look like? Take a peek at our video, recognised with the Digital Media OxTALENT award.

#StartedinOxford

The Paediatric Neuroimaging group are measuring brain activity when babies experience pain #StartedinOxford.

Results of the Poppi trial

The Poppi Trial: Procedural Pain in Premature Infants investigates if morphine is an effective and safe analgesic for premature babies.

Research

We undertake mechanistic research, clinical trials, methodology development (MRI, EEG and analytical approaches), with a particular focus on infant pain.

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Join us

If you are interested in learning more about the development of the human infant brain then get in touch. We have lots of opportunities for students and staff to join our research group.

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Our resources

We are very proud of our public engagement work - here we highlight our research through videos, podcasts, information leaflets and other resources.

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What's new

Image shows a premature baby stroked by an adult

Brain and mental health from infancy to adolescence

Our research has been featured in the University's "Brain and Mental Health" campaign, which highlights how some of the best minds at one of the world's leading universities are building on centuries of knowledge, and shaping the future of brain and mental health in the context of infant neuroscience and developmental psychology.

INC Meeting

On 15 and 16 November 2023 members of our team attended the International Neonatal Consortium (INC) Scientific Meeting in Bethesda. The INC is an international collaboration that brings together nurses, doctors, scientists, parents, regulators, and industry partners to improve neonatal care. We enjoyed the interesting talks from colleagues and parents who are at the forefront of neonatal care across the world. In addition, we were able to share our plans to improve the assessment of pain in neonatal clinical trials with the wider community.

Paediatric Neurorunners for SSNAP take on Oxford Half Marathon

Members of the Paediatric Neuroimaging Research Group at the University of Oxford (based at the Newborn Care Unit) decided to team up to support SSNAP (Support for Sick Newborns And their Parents). The team of four (Simon Marchant, Maz Aspbury, Luke Baxter and Marianne van der Vaart) signed up for the Oxford half marathon on 16th October 2022 to raise money for the charity through sponsorship. A couple of injuries meant that only two crossed the finish line, but they put in enough effort for the whole team!

The development of pain perception in early life

In this interview, Ebony chats with Rebeccah Slater, a professor of Pediatric Neuroimaging in the Department of Pediatrics (Oxford University, UK), about her research on neonatal pain perception and her involvement in FENS 2022. Slater’s lab focuses on how pain perception develops in early life and how this research can better equip doctors to manage and treat pain in babies.

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