Roger B. Fillingim, PhD

Dr. Fillingim's research investigates biological, social and psychological factors that may influence the experience of pain. His research uses standard psychophysical, or sensory testing, procedures to assess people\'s responses to pain. The major line of research in his laboratory focuses on how women and men experience pain differently. Women generally report more pain in daily life than men and they also show lower pain thresholds. Dr. FIllingim\'s research examines psychosocial factors (e.g. mood, coping, sex roles) as well as physiological variables such as hormone levels and blood pressure. He has also investigated certain pain disorders, especially those that are more common in women than men, including TMJ pain. More recently, he began examining ethnic differences in the experience of pain. His research is primarily funded by the National Institutes of Health.