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From correlation towards causality: modulating brain rhythms of pain using transcranial alternating current
Vanessa D Hohn1, Elisabeth S May1, Markus Ploner1
1Department of Neurology and TUM-Neuroimaging Center, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
Pain Reports
|October 4, 2019
Summary
Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) can causally investigate the role of brain oscillations in pain. This noninvasive method offers a promising avenue for understanding pain mechanisms and developing new chronic pain treatments.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Pain Research
- Brain Stimulation
Background:
- Neural oscillations and their synchrony are implicated in pain processing.
- Current evidence is largely correlational, limiting causal inferences about brain activity and pain.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the utility of Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation (tACS) for causal investigation of neural oscillations in pain.
- To bridge the gap between correlational findings and causal evidence in pain research.
Main Methods:
- Review of Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation (tACS) as a tool to modulate neural oscillations.
- Discussion of tACS application in pain research for mechanistic insights.
Main Results:
- tACS is a noninvasive technique capable of frequency-specific modulation of neural oscillations.
- tACS has been underutilized in pain research despite its potential.
Conclusions:
- tACS offers significant potential for investigating pain's neural mechanisms.
- Methodological considerations are crucial for successful application of tACS in pain research and chronic pain treatment development.
