The course is based on presentations and lectures by internationally recognized pain researchers and practitioners combined with participants presenting relevant parts of their PhD projects. Furthermore, the course involves a combination of group work (discussions of classic aspects of pain biology and its interpretation) and plenary discussions. The course covers the following topics:

• Pain definition and terminology
• Introduction to pain physiology
• Neurobiological basis of pain and nociception across animal groups
• Behavioural pain assessment
• Consequences of pain in terms of animal welfare
• The psychology of pain
• Introduction to pain relief.

The final part of the course constitutes written answers to questions from class-mates.