BrainBlog

From the NIH: Members of new Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee announced 13 February 2012 [snip] "The committee will work to identify critical gaps in basic and clinical research on the symptoms, causes, and treatment of pain and will recommend federal research programs in these areas. The focus will be to coordinate pain research activities across the federal government with the goals of stimulating pain research collaboration, fully leveraging the government resources dedicated to supporting pain research, and providing an important avenue for public involvement. The committee will explore public-private partnerships to broaden collaborative, cross-cutting research and consider best practices in disseminating information about pain to public and professional audiences." [snip] Read the full press release

From a press release from the NIH: Stanford researcher to speak at NIH on the role of neuroimaging in understanding pain NCCAM presents Opening Windows to the Brain: Lessons Learned in the Neuroimaging of Pain [snippet] What: Sean Mackey, M.D., Ph.D., chief of the Pain Management Division and associate professor of anesthesia and pain management at the Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, Calif., will be the featured speaker for the third annual Stephen E. Straus Distinguished Lecture in the Science of Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Dr. Mackey’s lecture is entitled Opening Windows to the Brain: Lessons Learned in the Neuroimaging of Pain. Why: Millions of Americans suffer from pain that is chronic, severe, and not easily managed. People who suffer from chronic pain may take various prescription and non-prescription medications; these do not always provide adequate relief and may have unwanted side effects. As a result, people sometimes turn to non-pharmacological ...

From King's College London: Innovative Partnership for Pain Research 10 Mar 2010, PR 48/10 "King’s has partnered with Pfizer to create an open innovation laboratory for pain research. As part of the partnership, a small team of Pfizer scientists will be based at the Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases to conduct research in pain biology." read the full article

Benzion Beilin; Dan Hoofien; Ravit Poran; Inbal Gral; Galina Grinevich; Berta Butin; Eduard Mayburd; & Yehuda Shavit. Comparison of two patient-controlled analgesia techniques on neuropsychological functioning in the immediate postoperative period. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, Volume 30, Issue 6, August 2008, 674-682. Pain may contribute to cognitive decline, which is a common complication in the early postoperative period. We compared the effects of two common pain management techniques, intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (PCA-IV) and patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA), on cognitive functioning in the immediate postoperative period. Patients hospitalized for elective surgery were randomly assigned to one of the treatment groups (30 patients per group). A battery of objective, standardized neuropsychological tests was administered preoperatively and 24 hours after surgery. Pain intensity was also evaluated. Nonoperated volunteers se...

Jensen MP, Mardekian J, Lakshminarayanan M, & Boye ME. Validity of 24-h recall ratings of pain severity: Biasing effects of "Peak" and "End" pain. Pain. 2008 Jul 15; 137(2): 422-427. Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Box 356490, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195-6490, USA. Despite the frequent use of pain recall ratings in clinical research, there remains doubt about the ability of individuals to accurately recall their pain. In particular, previous research indicates the possibility that the most pain experienced during a recall period and the most recent pain experienced (known as peak and end effects, respectively) might bias recall ratings. The current study used data from a published clinical trial to determine the relative validity of a 24-h recall rating of average post-operative pain and the nature and extent of any biasing influence of peak and end effects on nine separate 24-h recall ratings. The results supported a...

The annual meeting of the APS takes place next week in Florida. Visit the conference homepage for details: Link . From the conference homepage: Conference Purpose and Objectives "The 27th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Pain Society will offer current information about the diagnosis, treatment, and management of acute pain, chronic cancer and noncancer pain, and recurrent pain. In-depth workshops are planned and are designed to enhance research or clinical skills pertinent to the management of pain; they will feature content appropriate for professionals at several experience levels. "Each year the APS Scientific Program Committee carefully reviews attendees’ evaluations in order to organize a scientific program which addresses a broad range of topics related to pain research and treatment. "Designed for a diverse group of scientists, pain clinicians, and other professionals, the 27th Annual Scientific Meeting features a prominent faculty presenting basic, tran...

From today's New York Times : Mind Over Matter, With a Machine’s Help By JASON PONTIN Published: August 26, 2007 [snip] Omneuron is one of a number of new companies that are commercializing a brain-scanning technology called real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI. Using large scanners to measure blood flow to different parts of the brain, the technology makes the brain’s activity visible by revealing which of its parts are busiest when we perform different tasks. While fMRI dates back to the early 1990s, hitherto it has been used mainly by doctors in hospitals to make diagnoses. The commercialization of brain scanning is a recent development, spurred by the refinement of the technology. Omneuron , which Dr. deCharms founded in 2001 and whose research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, uses fMRI to teach people how to play with their own heads. Other entrepreneurs are working on ways to deploy fMRI as a lie detector, a tool for conducting market...