How do early-life stressful/painful experiences leave an imprint in the developing brain? We know that effective pain management in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is crucial to help mitigate the known short/long-term negative consequences of early pain exposure in very preterm infants. Sweet tasting solutions, such as sucrose or glucose, are currently recommended as standard care for pain mitigation in international guidelines but concerns have been raised regarding the possibility of adverse effects following repeated exposure on the developing infants born 2-4 months early. Human touch-based pain management strategies are also highly recommended and shown to be as efficacious, and possibly neuro-protective. To provide the best care, we must better understand how these early experiences leave their mark in the immature neonate, especially when used in combination and over many weeks. Showcasing an established neonatal mouse model that closely captures critical aspects of what preterm infants may experience in the NICU, Dr. Ranger will present original findings on whether early repeated exposure to pain, sucrose, or a combination of the two, affects inflammatory markers and induces brain microgliosis in neonatal mice. Recent complementary clinical findings in very preterm infants will also be presented, closing the bench-to-bedside loop.