Everyone experiences physical pain, and sometimes it becomes chronic. However, researchers have now discovered brainwaves that can indicate the intensity of a person’s pain. These findings have the potential to lead to the development of new treatment techniques for individuals suffering from debilitating pain. The study has been published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, as reported by The Guardian.
Prasad Shirvalkar, a neurologist and the lead researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, stated, “What we’ve learned is that chronic pain can successfully be tracked and predicted in the real world, while patients are walking the dog, or at home, when they get up in the morning, and when they are going about their lives.” This breakthrough could provide valuable insights into pain experienced by individuals in their daily activities.
The Guardian highlighted a silent epidemic in the UK, with approximately 28 million adults experiencing chronic pain. This alarming statistic further emphasizes the importance of advancing our understanding of pain and improving treatment options.
For their study, Shirvalkar and his colleagues implanted electrodes in four patients who were suffering from intractable chronic pain. These electrodes enabled the researchers to measure brain activity in two specific regions: the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC).
Volunteers were asked to complete brief surveys multiple times a day, providing information on the intensity and type of pain they were experiencing. Simultaneously, the researchers recorded snapshots of their brain activity. By combining the survey responses and brain recordings, the scientists successfully trained an algorithm to predict the level of pain a person was experiencing based on signals from the OFC region of the brain.
Shirvalkar noted, “We’ve developed an objective biomarker for that type of pain.” This biomarker has the potential to revolutionize the field of pain assessment and pave the way for personalized brain stimulation therapies to alleviate severe forms of pain.
Professor Blair Smith, quoted by The Guardian, commented on the research, stating, “If this research is successfully extended, it offers not only the opportunity to develop an objective measurement of some types of pain but also to enhance our understanding of the biological mechanisms involved.”
The findings of this study mark a significant step forward in our ability to quantify and comprehend chronic pain, providing hope for improved pain management strategies and better quality of life for those suffering from persistent pain conditions.
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