Chronic Pain Research Delves into the Brain

How the human brain responds to chronic pain could eventually lead to improved treatments for patients. Research conducted by the University of Adelaide reveals that chronic pain may be related to impaired neuroplasticity. An experiment was conducted on patients with chronic tension-type headache (CTTH). During the study, participants undertook a motor training task consisting of moving their thumb as quickly as possible in a specific direction. The change in performance (or learning) on the task was tracked by recording how quickly subjects moved their thumb, and a non-invasive brain stimulation technique also was used to obtain a measure of the participants’ neuroplasticity. According to Dr Ann-Maree Vallence, who conducted the research, “The people with no history of chronic pain got better at the task with training, and we observed an associated neuroplastic change in their brains. However, our chronic headache patients did not get better at the task and there were no associated changes in the brain, suggesting impaired neuroplasticity.” To read more about the study, click here.