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Analgesia and Pain Management

Analgesia and Pain Management

Pain is critical to various clinical pathologies, provoking an urgent need for effective management. Pain, whether acute or chronic, is a complex neurochemical process. Its alleviation depends on the type, with nonopioid analgesics effective for mild to moderate pain, such as musculoskeletal or inflammatory pain, while neuropathic pain responds best to anticonvulsants, tricyclic antidepressants, or serotonin/norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors. For severe acute or chronic pain, opioids may be...

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Psychophysically-anchored, Robust Thresholding in Studying Pain-related Lateralization of Oscillatory Prestimulus Activity

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Individualised Alpha-tACS for Modulating Pain Perception and Neural Oscillations: A Sham-Controlled Study in Healthy

Yaser Fathi¹, Françoise Dissassuca¹, Gloria Ricci^1,2

¹Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.

European Journal of Pain (London, England)

|July 19, 2025

Summary

This study explored individualized transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) for pain modulation. Findings suggest potential for personalized neuromodulation, especially in women, by targeting neural oscillations at the individual alpha frequency.

Keywords:

individual alpha frequency (IAF)neural oscillations nociception pain perception transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS)

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Last Updated: Sep 14, 2025

Psychophysically-anchored, Robust Thresholding in Studying Pain-related Lateralization of Oscillatory Prestimulus Activity

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Published on: January 21, 2017

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Electrode Positioning and Montage in Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation

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Published on: May 23, 2011

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Pain Research
Neuromodulation

Background:

Neural oscillations are crucial for pain processing but their role in pain modulation is unclear.
Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) can modulate oscillations, but inconsistent findings hinder its application.
Individualized protocols are needed to optimize tACS for pain management.

Purpose of the Study:

Investigate the effects of tACS at individual peak alpha frequency (IAF) on pain perception and neural oscillations.
Assess pain perception and heat pain thresholds (HPT) before and after tACS.
Explore individualized neuromodulation for pain.

Main Methods:

Within-subject, sham-controlled design with 38 healthy participants.
tACS applied over the primary motor cortex (M1) at individual somatosensory alpha frequency (SS-IAF).
Thermonociceptive stimuli used to assess pain perception and HPT; scalp EEG recorded for SS-IAF calculation.

Main Results:

Overall increase in pain perception and decrease in HPT across conditions.
Trend towards reduced sensitization to stimuli after tACS.
Correlation observed between SS-IAF and HPT; potential sex-specific effects noted.

Conclusions:

Individualized tACS targeting sensorimotor areas at SS-IAF shows potential for pain modulation.
Findings offer new perspectives for personalized neuromodulation in pain management.
Further research may refine tACS protocols for specific populations.