Persistent EEG overactivation in the cortical pain matrix of neurogenic pain patients
- PMID: 16527493
- DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2005.12.042
Persistent EEG overactivation in the cortical pain matrix of neurogenic pain patients
Abstract
Functional brain imaging of pain over the last years has provided insight into a distributed anatomical matrix involved in pain processing which includes multiple cortical areas. EEG/MEG-based imaging studies have mostly relied on settings of evoked nociception. We report here the spontaneous presence of enhanced activations in the pain matrix of the patient group on the basis of continuous EEG and functional Low Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography (LORETA) from 16 chronic neurogenic pain patients and 16 healthy controls. These overactivations occurred predominantly within the high theta (6-9 Hz) and low beta frequency ranges (12-16 Hz). Theta and beta overactivations were localized to multiple pain-associated areas, primarily to insular (IC), anterior cingulate (ACC), prefrontal, and inferior posterior parietal cortices, as well as to primary (S1), secondary (S2), and supplementary somatosensory (SSA) cortices. After a therapeutic lesion in the thalamus (central lateral thalamotomy, CLT), we followed a subgroup of 6 patients. Twelve months after surgery, activation in cingulate and insular cortices was significantly reduced. The presence of rhythmic processes in multiple, partially overlapping areas of the cortical pain matrix concur with the concept of thalamocortical dysrhythmia (TCD) that predicts increased thalamocortical low and high frequency oscillations ensuing from thalamic desactivation. These spontaneous, ongoing, frequency-specific overactivations may therefore serve as an anatomo-physiological hallmark of the processes underlying chronic neurogenic pain.
Similar articles
-
Increased EEG power and slowed dominant frequency in patients with neurogenic pain.Brain. 2006 Jan;129(Pt 1):55-64. doi: 10.1093/brain/awh631. Epub 2005 Sep 23. Brain. 2006. PMID: 16183660
-
High thalamocortical theta coherence in patients with neurogenic pain.Neuroimage. 2008 Feb 15;39(4):1910-7. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2007.10.019. Epub 2007 Oct 25. Neuroimage. 2008. PMID: 18060808
-
Three-dimensional localization of abnormal EEG activity in migraine: a low resolution electromagnetic tomography (LORETA) study of migraine patients in the pain-free interval.Brain Topogr. 2008 Sep;21(1):36-42. doi: 10.1007/s10548-008-0061-6. Epub 2008 Aug 5. Brain Topogr. 2008. PMID: 18679787
-
[Functional brain mapping of pain perception].Med Sci (Paris). 2011 Jan;27(1):82-7. doi: 10.1051/medsci/201127182. Med Sci (Paris). 2011. PMID: 21299967 Review. French.
-
[Cortical representation of pain].Nervenarzt. 2004 Oct;75(10):962-9. doi: 10.1007/s00115-004-1739-y. Nervenarzt. 2004. PMID: 15184984 Review. German.
Cited by
-
Relation between heart rate variability and spectral analysis of electroencephalogram in chronic neuropathic pain patients.Korean J Physiol Pharmacol. 2024 May 1;28(3):253-264. doi: 10.4196/kjpp.2024.28.3.253. Korean J Physiol Pharmacol. 2024. PMID: 38682173 Free PMC article.
-
The Analysis of Spontaneous Electroencephalogram (EEG) in Chronic Low Back Pain Patients Compared with Healthy Subjects.Med J Islam Repub Iran. 2023 Nov 28;37:128. doi: 10.47176/mjiri.37.128. eCollection 2023. Med J Islam Repub Iran. 2023. PMID: 38318405 Free PMC article.
-
Does brain entrainment using binaural auditory beats affect pain perception in acute and chronic pain?: a systematic review.BMC Complement Med Ther. 2024 Jan 12;24(1):34. doi: 10.1186/s12906-024-04339-y. BMC Complement Med Ther. 2024. PMID: 38216943 Free PMC article.
-
Effectiveness of transcranial alternating current stimulation for controlling chronic pain: a systematic review.Front Neurol. 2023 Dec 20;14:1323520. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1323520. eCollection 2023. Front Neurol. 2023. PMID: 38192572 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Lower individual alpha frequency in individuals with chronic low back pain and fear of movement.Pain. 2024 May 1;165(5):1033-1043. doi: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000003098. Epub 2023 Nov 29. Pain. 2024. PMID: 38112575
Publication types
MeSH terms
Substances
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources
Research Materials