Homeostasis refers to the ability of an organism to adjust its internal environment to maintain a stable equilibrium. We use control theory and simulations with artificial neural networks to understand how neural populations in the midbrain contribute to homeostatic control and endogenous pain regulation.

This work is relevant to chronic pain conditions, which often involve dysfunctional endogenous pain control. The implications of this research could provide targets for the pharmacological treatment of pain, and a computational model would provide predictions about the behaviour of these circuits, which could then become avenues for further experimental and pharmacological research.