Awake In America =C2=BB Chronic = pain does harm to the brain

Awake In=20 America

Helping others sleep well

Chronic pain does harm to the brain

Chronic pain does harm to the brain

Leave a Reply

Pages

Categories

Archives

Recent Posts

Sleep In Action

=C2=AB Justin=20 Chambers checks into hospital for sleep disorder

February 9th, 2008

People with unrelenting pain don=E2=80=99t only suffer from the = non-stop sensation of=20 throbbing pain. They also have trouble sleeping, are often depressed, = anxious=20 and even have difficulty making simple decisions.

In a new study, investigators at Northwestern=20 University=E2=80=99s Feinberg=20 School of Medicine have identified a clue that may explain how = suffering=20 long-term pain could trigger these other pain-related symptoms.

Researchers found that in a healthy brain all the regions exist in a = state of=20 equilibrium. When one region is active, the others quiet down. But in = people=20 with chronic pain, a front region of the cortex mostly associated with = emotion=20 "never shuts up," said Dante Chialvo, lead author and associate research = professor of=20 physiology at the Feinberg School. "The areas that are affected fail to=20 deactivate when they should."

They are stuck on full throttle, wearing out neurons and altering = their=20 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 was = published=20 in the Feb. 6, 2008 issue of The Journal = of=20 Neuroscience.

Chialvo and colleagues used functional magnetic resonance imaging=20 (fMRI) to scan the brains of people with chronic low back pain = and a=20 group of pain-free volunteers while both groups were tracking a moving = bar on a=20 computer screen.

The study shows pain sufferers performed the task well, but "at the = expense=20 of using their brain differently than the pain-free group," he said.

When certain parts of the cortex were activated in the pain-free = group, some=20 others were deactivated, maintaining a cooperative equilibrium between = the=20 regions. This equilibrium also is known as the resting state network of = the=20 brain.

In the chronic pain group, however, one of the nodes of this network = did not=20 quiet down as it did in the pain-free subjects.

This constant firing of neurons in these regions of the brain could = cause=20 permanent damage, Chialvo said. "We know when neurons fire too much they = may=20 change their connections with other neurons and or even die because they = can=E2=80=99t=20 sustain high activity for so long," he explained.

=E2=80=98If you are a chronic pain patient, you have pain 24 hours a = day, seven days=20 a week, every minute of your life," Chialvo said. "That permanent = perception of=20 pain in your brain makes these areas in your brain continuously active. = This=20 continuous dysfunction in the equilibrium of the brain can change the = wiring=20 forever and could hurt the brain."

Chialvo hypothesized the subsequent changes in wiring "may make it = harder for=20 you to make a decision or be in a good mood to get up in the morning. It = could=20 be that pain produces depression and the other reported abnormalities = because it=20 disturbs the balance of the brain as a whole."

He said his findings show it is essential to study new approaches to = treat=20 patients not just to control their pain but also to evaluate and prevent = the=20 dysfunction that may be generated in the brain by the chronic pain.

Chialvo=E2=80=99s collaborators in this project are Marwan=20 Baliki, a graduate student; Paul Geha, a post-doctoral fellow, and A. Vania Apkarian, professor of physiology = and of=20 anesthesiology, all at the Feinberg School.

For more information on Dante Chialvo visit: http://www.chialvo.net/

Technorati=20 Tags: chronic=20 pain, unrelenting pain, suffer, non-stop sensations, throbbing = pain,=20 trouble=20 sleeping, depressed, anxioous, difficulty with decision-making, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern=20 University, long-term pain, pain-related=20 symptoms, sleep deprivation, sleep = deprived,=20 healthy = brain,=20 equilibrium, frontal = cortex,=20 wearing out=20 neurons, Dante=20 Chialvo, functional magnetic resonance imaging, fMRI, chronic=20 low back pain, pain-free, volunteers, pain sufferers, permanent pain perception, brain=20 continuously active, constant=20 dysfunction, Marwan Baliki, Paul Geha, A. = Vania=20 Apkarian, physiology, anesthesiology

Popularity: 50% [=20 ? ]

Technorati Tags: chronic pain, unrelenting pain, suffer, non-stop sensations, throbbing = pain, trouble = sleeping,=20 depressed, anxioous, difficulty with decision-making, Feinberg=20 School of Medicine, Northwestern=20 University, long-term pain, pain-related=20 symptoms, sleep deprivation, sleep = deprived, healthy = brain, equilibrium, frontal = cortex, wearing out=20 neurons, Dante=20 Chialvo, functional magnetic resonance imaging, fMRI, chronic low back=20 pain, pain-free,=20 volunteers, pain = sufferers, permanent=20 pain perception, brain=20 continuously active, constant=20 dysfunction, Marwan Baliki, Paul Geha, A. Vania Apkarian, physiology, anesthesiology

admin in Home, Sleep Deprivation

Trackback=20 URI Comments=20 RSS

Name (required)

Mail (will not be published) = (required)

= Website

=20

Notify me of follow-up comments via e-mail

The people identified as making the comments = below are=20 solely responsible for the content of their comments. All comments are = subject=20 to Awake In America's terms and conditions of use, and comments by = individuals,=20 including those associated with Awake In America, do not necessarily = reflect the=20 opinion or approval of Awake In America, Inc. Readers whose comments = violate=20 this site's terms and conditions of use may have their comments removed = or all=20 of their content blocked from viewing by other users, with or without=20 notification. Anyone attempting to post SPAM (splog) in comments will be = blocked=20 from further access to this site. By submitting a comment on Awake In = America's=20 site, you grant Awake In America a perpetual license to reproduce your = words and=20 name/online moniker, and/or Web site in attribution.

Pages
- About=20
- Non-Discriminatory=20 Statement
Categories
- Admin"=20 href=3D"http://awakeinamerica.info/category/admin/">Admin=20
- Health"=20 href=3D"http://awakeinamerica.info/category/health/">Health=20
- Home"=20 href=3D"http://awakeinamerica.info/category/home/">Home=20
- Industry News"=20 = href=3D"http://awakeinamerica.info/category/sleep/industry-news/">Industry=20 News=20
- Research"=20 href=3D"http://awakeinamerica.info/category/sleep/research/">Research=20
- Sleep Apnea"=20 = href=3D"http://awakeinamerica.info/category/health/sleep-apnea-health/"><= !-- google_ad_section_start(weight=3Dignore) -->Sleep=20 Apnea=20
- Sleep Deprivation"=20 = href=3D"http://awakeinamerica.info/category/health/sleep-deprivation/">Sleep=20 Deprivation=20
- Sleep in the News"=20 = href=3D"http://awakeinamerica.info/category/sleep/sleep-in-the-news/">Sleep=20 in the News=20
- Sleep Tips"=20 href=3D"http://awakeinamerica.info/category/sleep/sleep-tips/">Sleep=20 Tips=20
- Teens and Sleep"=20 = href=3D"http://awakeinamerica.info/category/sleep/teens-and-sleep/">Teens=20 and Sleep=20
- Uncategorized"=20 href=3D"http://awakeinamerica.info/category/uncategorized/">Uncategorized=20
- Women and Sleep"=20 = href=3D"http://awakeinamerica.info/category/sleep/women-and-sleep/">Women=20 and Sleep

Archives
- February 2008=20
- January 2008=20
- December 2007=20
- October 2007=20
- August=20 2007=20
- July=20 2007
Recent Posts
- Chronic=20 pain does harm to the brain
- Justin=20 Chambers checks into hospital for sleep disorder
- Snorers=20 appear more likely to develop chronic bronchitis
- Risk=20 of developing diabetes may increase when deep sleep is lacking
- Bill=20 Clinton falls asleep at Martin Luther King Jr. service =
Sleep In Action
It is 19 days until National = Sleep=20 Awareness Week 2008. Are you ready?

Simple href links: AMP will play any href link to = MP3, Flash Video (flv), Quicktime and Windows Media files.

Upload your mp3, flv, Quicktime mov, mp4, m4v, m4a, m4b, 3gp, = Windows Media wmv, avi or asf file via the WordPress editor's = upload browser then "send to editor" - or make a hypertext link to any = external file on the web - and you're done!

For Quicktime files you can replace the default AMP placeholder image = by uploading a jpeg to the same directory as your movie (e.g., = my-movie.mov) and giving it the filename my-movie.mov.jpg. AMP = will then load your custom image when playing that movie.

WordPress Editor: For custom Flash swf embeds use = the Flash "ƒ" button, likewise use the Director "d" button for = embedding dcr movies. For all other supported media player formats = (including Google Video, YouTube, Apple iMixes etc.,) as well as full = url's to href linked media (mp3, flv, mov, wmv etc.) use the "A" for = Anarchy button.

Web devs: The SWF embeds are handled by Kmil Flash = Embed and its Javascript handler SWFObject. The Kmil tags in = WP, and SWFObject javascript = in html provide a very flexible framework for embedding swf files = including multiple fvars. SWFObject is also included in the standalone = javascript. If you are running AMP in a WordPress install simply copy = the script embed from a WP page header and paste that into non-WP sites, = for example a BBPress forum or MediaWiki, to make use of both simple = href media links as well as SWFObject Flash embeds.

=C2=AB Jan