PhD defense: Camilla Eva Krænge

Camilla Eva Krænge

Title: ”From sensation to decision: how spatial integration and evidence accumulation shape temperature and pain perception”. 

Abstract:

We do not experience the world as a direct reflection of physical reality. Instead, perception is constructed by the nervous system, which continuously filters and interprets sensory input from across the body and senses before it reaches conscious awareness. This includes sensations such as warmth, cold, touch, and pain. This PhD project investigates how the nervous system integrates signals from skin receptors to generate coherent sensations of warmth, cold, and pain through summation and inhibition, shaping what we ultimately perceive as temperature and pain.

 The work combines psychophysical experiments and computational modeling to examine how these mechanisms transform sensory input into unified perception. The research is based on three experimental studies. The first established how these mechanisms operate in healthy young adults. The second examined how they are altered by natural aging. The third investigated individuals with peripheral neuropathy to assess the impact of nerve damage. Together, the findings show that aging and nerve damage affect sensory summation in different ways, while inhibitory processing remains stable in both conditions. These results suggest that different components of sensory integration are differentially affected by aging and neuropathy, providing a clearer understanding of how perception changes across the lifespan and disease. 

Assessment committee: 

• Associate Professor Stine Hasselholt, Department of Clinical Medicine, Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus University.
• Professor Susanne Becker, Department of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf. Associate
• Professor Steffen Frahm, Department of Health Science & Technology, Aalborg University.

After the defense CFIN is hosting a small reception in the pavilion, CFIN South, Building 1710, Universitetsbyen 3, 8000 Aarhus C.

ALL ARE WELCOME

Contact:

For more information, please contact PhD student Camilla Eva Krænge 
Email: CamillaKraenge@gmail.com 
Phone +45 28 57 98 88