- Scientists are examining signs from two areas of the brain to better understand chronic pain.
- In a new study, researchers say signs from two areas of the brain linked to acute pain were activated during bouts with chronic pain.
- Experts say the new findings could help in the development of treatments for chronic pain.
For the first time, scientists have measured biomarkers and activity in areas of the brain related to chronic pain (i.e., pain lasting 3 months or greater), shedding new light on a condition that affects more than
Researchers used functional MRI machines to investigate whether two areas of the brain known to activate during the experience of acute pain — the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) — are also activated when experiencing chronic pain.
Scientists gathered data from four individuals, three with chronic pain caused by stroke and one with a phantom limb after a leg amputation. The subjects had electrodes implanted to record ACC and OFC activity during chronic pain episodes.
These measurements, combined with self-reporting of pain severity and type, allowed researchers to use machine learning to predict chronic pain episodes by looking at OFC activity.
Acute pain, on the other hand, seemed to trigger more ACC activity, a separate study by the research team suggested. That study was limited, however, and further research is required, the authors noted.
The
“When you think about it, pain is one of the most fundamental experiences an organism can have,” Dr. Prasad Shirvalkar, an associate professor of anesthesia and neurological surgery at the University of California San Francisco, and first author of the study, said in a
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