Matthew Banghart

Matthew Banghart is an Associate Professor in the Department of BIO at the University of California, San Diego. His research focuses on the cellular and circuit mechanisms of cognitive and pharmacological pain modulation, with an emphasis on the role of neuropeptides. He develops novel photopharmacological tools to investigate how cognitive processes such as expectation and attentional focus shape sensory perception, particularly in the context of pain perception and placebo analgesia. His work explores the neural pathways and computational roles underlying placebo analgesia and the function of opioid neuropeptide signaling in these circuits. Banghart's laboratory employs optogenetic and chemogenetic methods, brain slice electrophysiology, in vivo imaging, and rodent behavioral analysis to address these questions. He is also developing light-activated opioids and genetically-encoded sensors to study endogenous opioid neuropeptides.

Matthew Banghart is an Assistant Professor of Neurobiology at the University of California San Diego, specializing in pain perception, opioids, neuropeptides, and photopharmacology. His research focuses on developing light-activated ion channels and photochromic tools to control neuronal activity with high spatial and temporal precision. By engineering optogenetic and optochemical systems, Banghart explores mechanisms underlying pain signaling, opioid action, and neural circuit modulation. His work includes the design of photoactivatable neuropeptides and nanoparticles for targeted drug delivery, as well as studies on the neural basis of opioid-induced respiratory depression. These efforts aim to advance pain management and neuropharmacology through precise, non-invasive interventions.