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Published online 14 November 2007 | Nature 450, 329 (2007) | doi:10.1038/450329b
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Brain waves reveal intensity of pain
Neural signal offers objective measure of subjective experience.
SAN DIEGO Recordings from electrodes in the human brain may offer the first objective way to measure the intensity of pain. Researchers say that they have found a neural signal that correlates with the amount of pain that an individual feels.
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Important clarification: By mistake the article has omitted to acknowledge the extraordinary neurosurgeons Mr Alex Green and Professor Tipu Aziz from the Nuffield Department of Neurosurgery as the lead authors on this research. /Morten Kringelbach
Really interesting news, I can corroborate from a clinical viewpoint. As a matter of fact, all parenchimal activities parallel local microcirculatory dynamics,deterministic chaotic in nature, according to my theory of Angiobiopathy, completing Tischendorf's Angiobiotopy, we can now accurately evaluate (See the website Microcirculation linked to www.semeioticabiofisica.it). Well, in case of pain, the described brain waves are associated with biophysical-semeiotic sings of type I, microcirculatory activation, assessed bedside with the aid of a simple stethoscope, as I demonstrated more than 20 (sic!)years ago for the first time: Stagnaro S., Valutazione percusso-ascoltatoria della microcircolazione cerebrale globale e regionale. Atti, XII Congr. Naz. Soc. It. di Microangiologia e Microcircolazione. 13-15 Ottobre, Salerno, e Acta Medit. 145, 163, 1986. Finally, recent data (J Neurophysiol (October 3, 2007). doi:10.1152/jn.01366.2006 Submitted on December 31, 2006 Accepted on October 3, 2007 http://jn.physiology.org/cgi/content/abstract/ 01366.2006v1?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT= &author1=Christopher+Moore&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX= 0&sortspec=relevance&resourcetype=HWCIT)as wrote me Christofer Moore, the author. Sergio Stagnaro MD
If this work could somehow lead to a quick, easy and non-invasive metric of pain along its various dimensions (fMRI?) that would certainly be an important and fundamental achievement. If such as test were 100% reliable and accurate as to intensity it might help overcome the heinous restricting of opiate based analgesics to people in severe pain in the U.S. But I suspect, from personal experience, that there may be a little more to it than the activity in these regions. For example, stress seems to heighten pain or at least some pains though stress is not itself pain. Also, fear or anticipation of severe pain seems to heighten pain though these are not pains.
I would be very curious about how these waves correlate to activity in the anterior cingulate.
I'm the 3rd year students of School Pharmacy in Bandung Institute of Technology. I think that it is an amazing experimentation. But surely, I want to know what is the main objective aim of this research? I have my curiousity on Neuropharmcology. And one question again, is there any relationship between deep brain stimulation in raising the pain sense with the release of endorphin? Thanx for the attention. I'll be very glad if this question could be answered. Hegar Pramastya
It's a nice development in the area of neurophysiology and neurosurgery and can help further to pin point and accurately target areas responsible for intractable pain states, especially ones that originate in the CNS region. However, this study represents nothing new in terms of pain neuropharmacology and neurophysiology.The technique described is expensive and extremely invasive. Unless there can be a way of measuring changes in those "pain" regions by non-invasive means, this technique is destined to be confined to elective neurosurgeries. Unfortunately it does nothing for treatment of pain, particularly persistent pain states in humans or animals.