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Brain Differences May Hard-Wire Some People for Chronic Pain
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2014-03-22 01:40:39, 조회 : 1,781 |
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Brain Differences May Hard-Wire Some People for Chronic Pain
Chronic pain is, to an extent, in your head. A new U.S. National Institutes of Health-sponsored study suggests that your patterns of \"white matter\"—a type of brain tissue that influences nerve signaling, can predict the likelihood you will one day suffer chronic pain.
Vania Apkarian, a Northwestern University physiology professor and a senior author of the study, led a team in scanning the brains of 46 participants who had started experiencing recurring lower back pain within the three months prior. The researchers then conducted follow-up interviews with the participants over the following year. About half said that their back pain subsided, while the other half said their pain persisted.
Apkarian and his team next analyzed the brain scans. The pattern of white matter in the persistent-pain group’s scans differed distinctly from the white-matter pattern of the group whose pain subsided, and closely matched that of a third group of participants who had reported suffering back pain for a year prior to the study. The group that recovered from pain, meanwhile, showed white-matter patterns more in common with another control group of participants who had been pain-free all along.
This study adds to a growing body of research that indicates links brain activity and chronic pain. It is promising news for pain treatment, Apkarian adds: If doctors can predict a patient’s risk for chronic pain, they will be better able to help him or her avert it. —Rick Docksai
Source: U.S. National Institutes of Health
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