Shape shifting pain: chronification of back pain shifts brain representation from nociceptive to emotional circuits

Chronic pain conditions are associated with abnormalities in brain structure and function. Moreover, some studies indicate that brain activity related to the subjective perception of chronic pain may be distinct from activity for acute pain. However, the latter are based on observations from cross-sectional studies. How brain activity reorganizes with transition from acute to chronic pain has remained unexplored. Here we study this transition by examining brain activity for rating fluctuations of back pain magnitude. First we compared back pain-related brain activity between subjects who have had the condition for ∼2 months with no prior history of back pain for 1 year (early, acute/subacute back pain group, n…

• NU
  Northwestern University
• NI
  National Institutes of Health

  Award: DE022746
• NI
  National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

  Award: NS035115
• NI
  National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research