PIs: Dr. Susanna Asseyer (Hospital Charité  - Universitätsmedizin Berlin) & Dr. Sabrina Coninx (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)

PhD student: Hannah Maria Köveker (Hospital Charité  - Universitätsmedizin Berlin)

Duration: 01.01.2026 - 31.12.2028

Funding: The project is generously funded by the Head-Genuit Foundation

The project is motivated by the urgent need to acknowledge that the severe distress and disability associated with chronic pain may be largely driven by pain-related suffering - an experience distinct from pain itself. Progress in this area is hindered by the absence of a clear, widely accepted definition of pain-related suffering, resulting in fragmented research and limiting clinical dialogue. 

The central aim of this interdisciplinary initiative is therefore to establish a rigorous conceptual framework for understanding pain-related suffering, with particular attention to the meaning individuals ascribe to their pain and the role that illness narratives play in the ascription of this meaning. To achieve this, the project integrates philosophical analysis, used to define key attributes and examine the relationship between suffering and meaning, with qualitative empirical research focused on patients’ illness narratives, identifying factors that contribute to both vulnerability and resilience in the experience of suffering.

Dr. Susanna Asseyer

• Asseyer, S., Panagoulas, E., Maidhof, J., Villringer, K., Al, E., Chen, X., Krause, T., Hardikar, S., Villringer, A., & Jungehülsing, G. J. (2025). Prediction of Central Post-Stroke Pain by Quantitative Sensory Testing. Annals of Neurology, 97(3), 507–520. https://doi.org/10.1002/ana.27138

• Asseyer, S., Henke, E., Trebst, C., Hümmert, M. W., Wildemann, B., Jarius, S., Ringelstein, M., Aktas, O., Pawlitzki, M., Korsen, M., Klotz, L., Siebert, N., Ruprecht, K., Bellmann-Strobl, J., Wernecke, K. D., Häußler, V., Havla, J., Gahlen, A., Gold, R., Paul, F., Kleiter, I., & Ayzenberg, I. (Neuromyelitis Optica Study Group). (2021). Pain, Depression, and Quality of Life in Adults with MOG-Antibody-Associated Disease. European Journal of Neurology, 28(5), 1645–1658. https://doi.org/10.1111/ene.14729

• Asseyer, S., Hamblin, J., Messina, S., Mariano, R., Siebert, N., Everett, R., Küker, W., Bellmann-Strobl, J., Ruprecht, K., Jarius, S., Leite, M. I., Brandt, A., Paul, F., & Palace, J. (2020). Prodromal Headache in MOG-Antibody Positive Optic Neuritis. Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders, 40, 101965. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msard.2020.101965

• Asseyer, S., Kuchling, J., Gaetano, L., Komnenić, D., Siebert, N., Chien, C., Scheel, M., Oertel, F. C., Ruprecht, K., Bellmann-Strobl, J., Finke, C., Chakravarty, M. M., Magon, S., Wuerfel, J., Paul, F., Papadopoulou, A., & Brandt, A. U. (2020). Ventral Posterior Nucleus Volume is Associated with Neuropathic Pain Intensity in Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorders. Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders, 46, 102579. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msard.2020.102579

• Asseyer, S., Schmidt, F., Chien, C., Scheel, M., Ruprecht, K., Bellmann-Strobl, J., Brandt, A. U., & Paul, F. (2018). Pain in AQP4-IgG-Positive and MOG-IgG-Positive Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorders. Multiple Sclerosis Journal, 4(3), 2055217318796684. https://doi.org/10.1177/2055217318796684

Dr. Sabrina Coninx

• Coninx, S. (2024). Pain Philosophy: Recent Debates and Future Challenges. Philosophy Compass, 19(4), e12981. https://doi.org/10.1111/phc3.12981

• Coninx, S. (2023). The Dark Side of Niche Construction. Philosophical Studies, 180, 3003–3030. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11098-023-02024-3

• Coninx, S. & Stilwell, P. (2023). Chronic Pain, Enactivism, and the Challenges of Integration. In M.-O. Casper & G. F. Artese (eds.) Situated Cognition Research. Studies in Brain & Mind, Vol. 23 (pp. 241–276). Springer.

• Coninx, S., & Stilwell, P. (2021). Pain and the Field of Affordances: An Enactive Approach to Acute and Chronic Pain. Synthese, 199, 7835–7863. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-021-03142-3