Abstract
Brain responses to posterior tibial nerve stimulation were examined in patients who suffered from a proven neuropathic (traumatic) pain. The aim of this study was to learn if these responses could be used for the assessment of persistent pain and its relief in chronic pain patients. Experiments were carried out in five patients, where usual strategies had failed and spinal cord stimulation was applied. It was found that the measured evoked responses, when these patients were in pain, showed additional waves at latencies at around 110 ms and 150 ms after stimulation of the posterior tibial nerve. The magnetic field and electrical potential distributions at these latencies were dipolar and the responses at 110 ms and 150 ms could be ascribed to two equivalent current dipoles situated in two distinct areas in the brain. In patients, who underwent spinal cord stimulation, the additional wave disappeared once the patient was in a pain free condition. For this group of patients the additional waves appear to be related to the perception of pain and this may offer an objective method to assess this kind of pain and study the effects of spinal cord stimulation. Although not mentioned here, similar results were found for median nerve stimulation.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 90-90 |
| Journal | Brain topography |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 6 Mar 1997 |
| Event | 8th International ISBET Congress 1997: with The KEY Foundation Symposium “Brain Fields in Psychiatry” - Zurich, Switzerland Duration: 6 Mar 1997 → 8 Mar 1997 Conference number: 8 |