Franziska Labrenz

Dr. Franziska Labrenz is a researcher at the Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology within the Faculty of Medicine at Ruhr University Bochum. Her work focuses on the complex mechanisms of visceral pain and its modulation by psychological and social factors.

• Department: Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology
• Academic Rank: Researcher
• Key Collaborators: Prof. Elsenbruch, Dr. Icenhour, Prof. Benson

Research Interests:
Dr. Labrenz investigates interoceptive sensations, particularly chronic visceral pain, through behavioral experiments and neuroimaging studies. Her research explores how stress, anxiety, attention, and learning/memory processes influence pain perception, with a focus on gut-brain interactions and neurovascular responses during inflammation.

Publication Trends:
Her recent work (2023-2015) spans visceral pain neuroimaging, inflammation-related anxiety, fear conditioning models, and sex-based differences in pain processing. Key methodologies include fMRI, functional connectivity analysis, and experimental endotoxemia.

• Core Themes: Visceral Pain Mechanisms
• Neuroimaging & Functional Connectivity
• Stress-Anxiety-Pain Interactions
• Gut-Brain Axis
• Sex Differences
• Conditioning & Extinction Processes