Chronic Health Blog

Chronic Pain=E2=80=99s Effect on the Brain

U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday that they found on brain scans = of people=20 with chronic pain that their brains show a state of constant activity in = areas=20 that should be at rest. Researchers say that this could explain why = these=20 patients have higher rates of depression, anxiety and other disorders.=20 Researchers state that the disruptions in the brain could explain why = these=20 patients have trouble with sleep disturbances and attention also.

The researchers wrote in the Journal of Neuroscience:

=E2=80=9CIt seems that enduring pain for a long time affects brain = function in=20 response to even minimally demanding attention tasks completely = unrelated to=20 pain.=E2=80=9D

Dante Chialvo, a researcher at Northwestern University in Chicago who = worked=20 on the study, said:

=E2=80=9CPeople with chronic pain =E2=80=94 meaning pain that lasts = more than six months=20 after their injury =E2=80=94 have many other issues that affect their = quality of life=20 as much as pain. It is not known where they come = from.=E2=80=9D

Researchers are saying that a front region of the cortex that is = mostly=20 associated with emotion is constantly active and this disrupts the = normal=20 equillibrium.

The brain scan was done on 15 people with chronic back pain and 15 = healthy=20 people. Each volunteer had an easy attention task to do: they were = instructed to=20 track a moving bar on a screen. This way the researchers could observe = the brain=20 shifting out of default mode to do the task. They said that both groups=20 performed well, but the differences showed when they measured the = activated=20 areas of the brain.

They continued to comment:

=E2=80=9CWhere we were surprised is the difference in how much = brain they used to=20 do the task compared with the healthy group. It was 50 times larger. = These=20 findings suggest that the brain of a chronic pain patient is not = simply a=20 healthy brain processing pain information but rather it is altered by = the=20 persistent pain in a manner reminiscent of other neurological = conditions=20 associated with cognitive impairments.=E2=80=9D

So pain sufferers, isn=E2=80=99t some of this what we=E2=80=99ve been = trying to tell doctors=20 for years? Maybe we didn=E2=80=99t know all the technical terms and = stuff, but haven=E2=80=99t=20 we been saying for years with our illnesses that the brain is affected? = When you=20 stop and think about it, isn=E2=80=99t it kind of funny that when you = read =E2=80=9Clatest=20 reports=E2=80=9D like this you can say to yourself, =E2=80=9CWell duh! I = already knew=20 that!=E2=80=9D?

Source: MSNBC.com

No Comments

No comments yet.

Comments=20 RSS TrackBack Identifier URI

Leave a comment

February 6th, 2008

=C2=AB Part=20 1: Diseases & Conditions that Affect Heart Health | Part=20 2: Diseases & Conditions that Affect Heart Health =C2=BB =

Get Chronic Health Blog via Email
- = =

Categories
- Welcome=20
- Diabetes= =20
- Cancer=20
- Chron= ic=20 Illness=20
- Fibromya= lgia=20
- Chronic=20 Fatigue Syndrome=20
- Interstitial=20 Cystitis=20
- Depression= =20
- Healt= h=20 & Wellness=20
- Latest=20 News=20
- Celia= cs=20 Disease=20
- Stress=20
- Pain=20
- Medicatio= ns=20
- Irritable=20 Bowel Syndrome=20
- Month= In=20 Review=20
- Cardio= vascular=20

Archives
- February 2008 =
- January 2008=20

WebbleYou Blog = Network
- 8525 Info=20
- About Adoption=20
- American Idolist=20
- Angling Buzz=20
- Animal Lover=20
- Bargain Hunting=20
- Big League Blog=20
- Bike Diva=20
- Caff=C3=A9ist=20
- Career Mothering=20
- Chronic Health Blog=20
- Consumer DigiCams=20
- Domestic Glamor=20
- Family Dollars and = Sense=20
- Fantasy Football = Views=20
- FunnyTech=20
- Geektronica=20
- Grammar Police=20
- Heroes Watch=20
- Local Food Blog=20
- MacBookPrOwner=20
- Mom's Tinfoil Hat=20
- Mom=20 Works at Home=20
- Moneyist=20
- Office Hacks=20
- Power Blogging=20
- Scrapbookist=20
- Simple Family Trees=20
- Sucky Stuff=20
- Teaching for=20 Understanding=20
- The Tested=20
- Trucker Blog=20
- Twice Exceptional = Kids=20
- Yarnist=20
- WebbleYou TV=20
- WebbleYou Mothers' Network (WYMN)=20
- WebbleYou Blog Network=20
- Your Ad Here=20
- Write for WebbleYou =

Search
- =20

Blogroll
- Against Medical = Advice=20
- Bird On A = Wire=20
- Bits and = Pieces=20
- BlogCatalog=20
- Brain Foggles=20
- CFS Squared=20
- Chronic Babe=20
- ChronicallyMe=20
- Core Psych Blog=20
- Die, Or Beat = This=20
- Dieter=E2=80=99s Review = Guide=20
- Disability = Blog=20
- Dying For Food =
- Fibromyalgia=20 Journal=20
- Fighting Fatigue =
- Fighting = Fatigue=20 Forum=20
- Health Central=20
- Health.infoNIAC=20
- Healthy=20 Perspectives=20
- In = Sickness &=20 In Health=20
- Living With = Chronic=20 Fatigue Syndrome=20
- Living With = Fibromyalgia=20
- Mothering From Day = To Day=20
- Ponderings and=20 Pawprints=20
- Soul Cysters=20
- Talk Herbs=20
- The Fibromyalgia=20 Experiment=20
- We R Living = Free=20
- Your Best = Life=20

My Account
- Login=20
- Entries = RSS=20
- Comments=20 RSS=20
- Valid = XHTML=20

Syndicate
- =20

Chronic Health Blog is powered by WordPress and WebbleYou. Theme based on F= lickred.

Chronic Health Blog

Chronic Pain=E2=80=99s Effect on the Brain

Get Chronic Health Blog via Email

Categories

Archives

WebbleYou Blog = Network

Search

Blogroll

My Account

Syndicate