Brain scans of people in chronic pain show a state of constant activity in areas that should be at rest, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday, a finding that could help explain why pain patients have higher rates of depression, anxiety and other disorders.
They said chronic pain seems to alter the way people process information that is unrelated to pain.
"It seems that enduring pain for a long time affects brain function in response to even minimally demanding attention tasks completely unrelated to pain," the researchers wrote in the Journal of Neuroscience.
Dante Chialvo, a researcher at Northwestern University in Chicago who worked on the study, said: "People with chronic pain -- meaning pain that lasts more than six months after their injury -- have many other issues that affect their quality of life as much as pain. It is not known where they come from."
Recent studies have shown that in healthy people, certain regions of the brain take over during a resting state, something known as a default mode network. "It takes care of your brain when your brain is at rest," Chialvo said in a telephone interview.
When a person performs a task, this network quiets down, he said, but not in people with chronic pain.
Instead, a front region of the cortex mostly associated with emotion is constantly active, disrupting the normal equilibrium.
To study this activity, Chialvo did a type of brain scan known as functional magnetic resonance imaging on 15 people with chronic back pain and 15 healthy people.
They gave their volunteers a simple attention task -- tracking a moving bar on a computer screen -- to observe the brain shifting out of default mode to handle the task.
Both groups performed the task well but when they measured areas of the brain activated, differences emerged.
"Where we were surprised is the difference in how much brain they used to do the task compared with the healthy group. It was 50 times larger," Chialvo said.
They said disruptions in this default network could explain why pain patients have problems with attention, sleep disturbances and even depression.
"These findings suggest that the brain of a chronic pain patient is not simply a healthy brain processing pain information but rather it is altered by the persistent pain in a manner reminiscent of other neurological conditions associated with cognitive impairments," they wrote.
(Editing by Maggie Fox and Bill Trott)
-- Be Sure to Check Out the PAYNE HERTZ blog, for people with chronic pain, by people with chronic pain. join in at: http://paynehertz.blogspot.com
> Brain scans of people in chronic pain show a state of constant activity in > areas that should be at rest, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday, a finding > that could help explain why pain patients have higher rates of depression, > anxiety and other disorders.
> They said chronic pain seems to alter the way people process information > that is unrelated to pain.
> "It seems that enduring pain for a long time affects brain function in > response to even minimally demanding attention tasks completely unrelated to > pain," the researchers wrote in the Journal of Neuroscience.
> Dante Chialvo, a researcher at Northwestern University in Chicago who worked > on the study, said: "People with chronic pain -- meaning pain that lasts > more than six months after their injury -- have many other issues that > affect their quality of life as much as pain. It is not known where they > come from."
> Recent studies have shown that in healthy people, certain regions of the > brain take over during a resting state, something known as a default mode > network. "It takes care of your brain when your brain is at rest," Chialvo > said in a telephone interview.
> When a person performs a task, this network quiets down, he said, but not in > people with chronic pain.
> Instead, a front region of the cortex mostly associated with emotion is > constantly active, disrupting the normal equilibrium.
> To study this activity, Chialvo did a type of brain scan known as functional > magnetic resonance imaging on 15 people with chronic back pain and 15 > healthy people.
> They gave their volunteers a simple attention task -- tracking a moving bar > on a computer screen -- to observe the brain shifting out of default mode to > handle the task.
> Both groups performed the task well but when they measured areas of the > brain activated, differences emerged.
> "Where we were surprised is the difference in how much brain they used to do > the task compared with the healthy group. It was 50 times larger," Chialvo > said.
> They said disruptions in this default network could explain why pain > patients have problems with attention, sleep disturbances and even > depression.
> "These findings suggest that the brain of a chronic pain patient is not > simply a healthy brain processing pain information but rather it is altered > by the persistent pain in a manner reminiscent of other neurological > conditions associated with cognitive impairments," they wrote.
> (Editing by Maggie Fox and Bill Trott)
> -- > Be Sure to Check Out the PAYNE HERTZ blog, for people with chronic pain, by > people with chronic pain. > join in at:http://paynehertz.blogspot.com
Aloha All and OG!
Not that you, OG, aren't part of the "All" in my greeting, I just wanted to make sure that you don't get upset with me about posting ANOTHER ARTICLE about the same study, but from a different news source.
I subscribe to "Psych Central", a newsletter all about everything and anything that could and does affect the human brain. It's been an excellent source of information for keeping up with the latest "findings" regarding all the varieties of how "stuff" affects our brains. I have it as a 'module' on my HOME page and the 5 articles with the latest news and information changes from day to day. I have to tell you all that when I saw this article in that module, I got what little bit of an adrenaline "rush" I only get now (it's barely perceptible now that I've been dealing with a fairly high level of constant pain for over a decade-LOL!) and quickly clicked on the link.
I didn't see that you, OG, had posted an article about the same study but from a different source, at the time. Sorry. I did notice that there are some small/minor differences between the two, so I thought it couldn't hurt to have them both in here. I hope that's alright with you as I'm not trying to impugn your choices of reading material or anything. Still friends? <nervous grin>
I am VERY, VERY happy to see that all those researchers, scientists, doctors and/or "white-coats" now have something physical that they can see in black and white as it seems the vast majority of them choose to be ignorant on such subjects regarding chronic pain. In fact, I even have some "friends and relatives" who, after telling them exactly what this study proves, enjoy frustrating me and making me feel like a mental case of some sort. I think we all have a couple or a few of "them" in our lives. Correct?
OK, Here it is and if anyone wants the link to this, I'll be more than happy to post it or email it to you because at the end of every one of their articles, the always list around 10 other links that are 'related' to whatever one you just finished reading! This is a great newsletter for those of us with CP, depression, anxiety or anything that could be grounded in living with long term intense/severe pain. Enjoy:
Chronic Pain Drains the Brain By: Rick Nauert, Ph.D. Reviewed by: John M. Grohol, Psy.D. Senior News Editor on February 7, 2008
Thursday, Feb. 7 (Psych Central) -- The means by which persistent or chronic pain affects an individual's ability to live a 'normal' life has been clarified by investigators at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine. People with persistent pain live a life that often includes coping with a host of symptoms beyond the non-stop sensation of throbbing pain. They also have trouble sleeping, are often depressed, anxious and even have difficulty making simple decisions. In the new study, researchers identified a clue that may explain how suffering long-term pain could trigger these other pain-related symptoms. Scientists found that in a healthy brain all the regions exist in a state of equilibrium. When one region is active, the others quiet down. But in people with chronic pain, a front region of the cortex mostly associated with emotion "never shuts up," said Dante Chialvo, lead author and associate research professor of physiology at the Feinberg School. "The areas that are affected fail to deactivate when they should." They are stuck on full throttle, wearing out neurons and altering their connections to each other. This is the first demonstration of brain disturbances in chronic pain patients not directly related to the sensation of pain. The study will be published in The Journal of Neuroscience. Chialvo and colleagues used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to scan the brains of people with chronic low back pain and a group of pain-free volunteers while both groups were tracking a moving bar on a computer screen. The study showed the pain sufferers performed the task well but "at the expense of using their brain differently than the pain-free group," Chialvo said. When certain parts of the cortex were activated in the pain-free group, some others were deactivated, maintaining a cooperative equilibrium between the regions. This equilibrium also is known as the resting state network of the brain. In the chronic pain group, however, one of the nodes of this network did not quiet down as it did in the pain-free subjects. This constant firing of neurons in these regions of the brain could cause permanent damage, Chialvo said. "We know when neurons fire too much they may change their connections with other neurons and or even die because they can't sustain high activity for so long," he explained. 'If you are a chronic pain patient, you have pain 24 hours a day, seven days a week, every minute of your life," Chialvo said. "That permanent perception of pain in your brain makes these areas in your brain continuously active. This continuous dysfunction in the equilibrium of the brain can change the wiring forever and could hurt the brain." Chialvo hypothesized the subsequent changes in wiring "may make it harder for you to make a decision or be in a good mood to get up in the morning. It could be that pain produces depression and the other reported abnormalities because it disturbs the balance of the brain as a whole." He said his findings show it is essential to study new approaches to treat patients not just to control their pain but also to evaluate and prevent the dysfunction that may be generated in the brain by the chronic pain.
> Brain scans of people in chronic pain show a state of constant activity in > areas that should be at rest, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday, a finding > that could help explain why pain patients have higher rates of depression, > anxiety and other disorders.
> They said chronic pain seems to alter the way people process information > that is unrelated to pain.
> "It seems that enduring pain for a long time affects brain function in > response to even minimally demanding attention tasks completely unrelated to > pain," the researchers wrote in the Journal of Neuroscience.
> Dante Chialvo, a researcher at Northwestern University in Chicago who worked > on the study, said: "People with chronic pain -- meaning pain that lasts > more than six months after their injury -- have many other issues that > affect their quality of life as much as pain. It is not known where they > come from."
> Recent studies have shown that in healthy people, certain regions of the > brain take over during a resting state, something known as a default mode > network. "It takes care of your brain when your brain is at rest," Chialvo > said in a telephone interview.
> When a person performs a task, this network quiets down, he said, but not in > people with chronic pain.
> Instead, a front region of the cortex mostly associated with emotion is > constantly active, disrupting the normal equilibrium.
> To study this activity, Chialvo did a type of brain scan known as functional > magnetic resonance imaging on 15 people with chronic back pain and 15 > healthy people.
> They gave their volunteers a simple attention task -- tracking a moving bar > on a computer screen -- to observe the brain shifting out of default mode to > handle the task.
> Both groups performed the task well but when they measured areas of the > brain activated, differences emerged.
> "Where we were surprised is the difference in how much brain they used to do > the task compared with the healthy group. It was 50 times larger," Chialvo > said.
> They said disruptions in this default network could explain why pain > patients have problems with attention, sleep disturbances and even > depression.
> "These findings suggest that the brain of a chronic pain patient is not > simply a healthy brain processing pain information but rather it is altered > by the persistent pain in a manner reminiscent of other neurological > conditions associated with cognitive impairments," they wrote.
> (Editing by Maggie Fox and Bill Trott)
> -- > Be Sure to Check Out the PAYNE HERTZ blog, for people with chronic pain, by > people with chronic pain. > join in at:http://paynehertz.blogspot.com > "Where we were surprised is the difference in how much brain they used to do > the task compared with the healthy group. It was 50 times larger," Chialvo > said.
Good thing that the brain's of most people with chronic pain have evolved and adapted to be at least 51% larger to handle the extra load.....what was the source of the article you found ?
Come on man, we know each other well enough to know that who found what article, where, or when, doesn't matter a fig, just as long as the info gets out to those who it can help (including ourselves). When someone's doc refuses them pain treatment, they now have more ammo, from many sources (and these studies have been saying the same thing now for a long time) to show the doc is failing his # 2 oath as a physician, "Do no Harm." Number 1, as most people know, is to verify insurance. Nobody should never feel bad about posting something. By opening the group you're a member and have the right to post. That's not the same as liking what's written, but that's a totally different subject, and you can usually sniff out the ones to save for a very boring day, if you even bother to read them by the subject. Subject: I'm going to blow my brains out! should probably get read before Subject: Dan Quayle- Cooties or cocaine habit? But the posts with the real meat and potato science that show the dangers of narcotics (as the public knows them) are total bullshit, the other options for pain relief are as dangerous as drinking jet fuel, We are not a bunch of people who woke up one morning and decided it would be fun to have the rest of our lives tethered to a medication bottle, and these drugs can save lives. The lack of them takes lives, and we're sick of being thought of as junkies because we want to live with a quality of life that is something considerably more than 3 or 4 thoughts of suicide a day. Once a week should be a realistic goal for the thought. A shrink would be horrified. A shrink in chronic pain would not. I'm curious what your shrink thinks of that statement, Wayne.
My bet is nuttier than fruitcake. I laugh in his face.--
-- Be Sure to Check Out the PAYNE HERTZ blog, for people with chronic pain, by people with chronic pain. join in at: http://paynehertz.blogspot.com
"Hawaiian Wayne" <birdie...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> Not that you, OG, aren't part of the "All" in my greeting, I just > wanted to make sure that you don't get upset with me about posting > ANOTHER ARTICLE about the same study, but from a different news > source.
> I subscribe to "Psych Central", a newsletter all about everything and > anything that could and does affect the human brain. It's been an > excellent source of information for keeping up with the latest > "findings" regarding all the varieties of how "stuff" affects our > brains. I have it as a 'module' on my HOME page and the 5 articles > with the latest news and information changes from day to day. I have > to tell you all that when I saw this article in that module, I got > what little bit of an adrenaline "rush" I only get now (it's barely > perceptible now that I've been dealing with a fairly high level of > constant pain for over a decade-LOL!) and quickly clicked on the link.
> I didn't see that you, OG, had posted an article about the same study > but from a different source, at the time. Sorry. I did notice that > there are some small/minor differences between the two, so I thought > it couldn't hurt to have them both in here. I hope that's alright with > you as I'm not trying to impugn your choices of reading material or > anything. Still friends? <nervous grin>
> I am VERY, VERY happy to see that all those researchers, scientists, > doctors and/or "white-coats" now have something physical that they can > see in black and white as it seems the vast majority of them choose to > be ignorant on such subjects regarding chronic pain. In fact, I even > have some "friends and relatives" who, after telling them exactly what > this study proves, enjoy frustrating me and making me feel like a > mental case of some sort. I think we all have a couple or a few of > "them" in our lives. Correct?
> OK, Here it is and if anyone wants the link to this, I'll be more than > happy to post it or email it to you because at the end of every one of > their articles, the always list around 10 other links that are > 'related' to whatever one you just finished reading! This is a great > newsletter for those of us with CP, depression, anxiety or anything > that could be grounded in living with long term intense/severe pain. > Enjoy:
> Chronic Pain Drains the Brain > By: Rick Nauert, > Ph.D. > Reviewed by: John M. Grohol, Psy.D. > Senior News > Editor > on February 7, 2008
> Thursday, Feb. 7 (Psych Central) -- The means by which persistent or > chronic pain affects an individual's ability to live a 'normal' life > has been clarified by investigators at Northwestern University's > Feinberg School of Medicine. > People with persistent pain live a life that often includes coping > with a host of symptoms beyond the non-stop sensation of throbbing > pain. They also have trouble sleeping, are often depressed, anxious > and even have difficulty making simple decisions. > In the new study, researchers identified a clue that may explain how > suffering long-term pain could trigger these other pain-related > symptoms. > Scientists found that in a healthy brain all the regions exist in a > state of equilibrium. When one region is active, the others quiet > down. But in people with chronic pain, a front region of the cortex > mostly associated with emotion "never shuts up," said Dante Chialvo, > lead author and associate research professor of physiology at the > Feinberg School. > "The areas that are affected fail to deactivate when they should." > They are stuck on full throttle, wearing out neurons and altering > their connections to each other. > This is the first demonstration of brain disturbances in chronic pain > patients not directly related to the sensation of pain. The study will > be published in The Journal of Neuroscience. > Chialvo and colleagues used functional magnetic resonance imaging > (fMRI) to scan the brains of people with chronic low back pain and a > group of pain-free volunteers while both groups were tracking a moving > bar on a computer screen. > The study showed the pain sufferers performed the task well but "at > the expense of using their brain differently than the pain-free > group," Chialvo said. > When certain parts of the cortex were activated in the pain-free > group, some others were deactivated, maintaining a cooperative > equilibrium between the regions. This equilibrium also is known as the > resting state network of the brain. In the chronic pain group, > however, one of the nodes of this network did not quiet down as it did > in the pain-free subjects. > This constant firing of neurons in these regions of the brain could > cause permanent damage, Chialvo said. "We know when neurons fire too > much they may change their connections with other neurons and or even > die because they can't sustain high activity for so long," he > explained. > 'If you are a chronic pain patient, you have pain 24 hours a day, > seven days a week, every minute of your life," Chialvo said. "That > permanent perception of pain in your brain makes these areas in your > brain continuously active. This continuous dysfunction in the > equilibrium of the brain can change the wiring forever and could hurt > the brain." > Chialvo hypothesized the subsequent changes in wiring "may make it > harder for you to make a decision or be in a good mood to get up in > the morning. It could be that pain produces depression and the other > reported abnormalities because it disturbs the balance of the brain as > a whole." > He said his findings show it is essential to study new approaches to > treat patients not just to control their pain but also to evaluate and > prevent the dysfunction that may be generated in the brain by the > chronic pain.
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