Cortical nociceptive processes are reduced by visual alpha‐band entrainment in the human brain

Ecsy, Katharina; Brown, Christopher; Jones, Anthony K.P.

doi:10.1002/ejp.1136

Cited by 16 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 47 publications

(64 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The present study's findings build on the findings by Ecsy et al (Ecsy, Brown, and Jones 2018), who previously demonstrated that visual alpha stimulation can increase alpha power and reduce pain in an experimental pain setting. Ahn et al (2019) provided the first evidence that alpha stimulation can be used successfully in a clinical pain setting.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

“…However, where this study only included brief periods of stimulation, Ahn et al applied alpha tACS for 40 minutes. In an experimental pain setting with pain-free volunteers, Ecsy et al (2018; achieved a significant reduction in pain ratings using 10 minutes of auditory and visual stimulation and Arendsen et al (2018) applied alpha tACS for 15-20 minutes. This feasibility study focused primarily on the entrainment of alpha activity, where it has been shown that even very short periods of stimulation can entrain alpha oscillations (Herrmann 2001;Mathewson et al 2012;.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Alpha entrainment has been successfully implemented to reduce experimentally induced pain using rhythmic visual (Ecsy, Brown, and Jones 2018), auditory (Ecsy, Jones, and Brown 2017), and transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) (Arendsen, Hugh-Jones, and Lloyd 2018). However, to date, only one study successfully induced an increase in somatosensory alpha power that was correlated with a reduction in pain intensity in patients with chronic low-back pain (CLBP), using tACS at alpha frequency over somatosensory regions (Ahn et al 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Entraining alpha activity using visual stimulation in patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain. A feasibility study

Arendsen

Henshaw

Brown

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Entraining alpha activity with rhythmic visual, auditory, and electrical stimulation can reduce experimentally induced pain. However, evidence for alpha entrainment and pain reduction in patients with chronic pain is limited. This feasibility study investigated whether visual alpha stimulation can increase alpha power in patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain and secondarily, if chronic pain was reduced following stimulation. In a within-subject design, 22 patients underwent 4-minute periods of stimulation at 10 Hz (alpha), 7 Hz (high-theta, control), and 1 Hz (control) in a pseudorandomized order. Patients underwent stimulation both sitting and standing and verbally rated their pain before and after each stimulation block on a 0-10 numerical rating scale. Global alpha power was significantly higher during 10 Hz compared to 1 Hz stimulation when patients were standing (t = -6.08, p <.001). On a more regional level, a significant increase of alpha power was found in the right-middle and left-posterior region when patients were sitting. With respect to our secondary aim, no significant reduction of pain intensity and unpleasantness was found. However, only the alpha stimulation resulted in a minimal clinically important difference in at least 50% of participants for pain intensity (50%) and unpleasantness ratings (65%) in the sitting condition. This study provides initial evidence for the potential of visual stimulation as a means to enhance alpha activity in patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain. The brief period of stimulation was insufficient to reduce chronic pain. This study is the first to provide evidence that a brief period of visual stimulation at alpha Visual alpha stimulation to reduce chronic pain 2 frequency can significantly increase alpha power in patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain. Further study is warranted to investigate optimal dose and individual stimulation parameters to achieve pain relief in these patients.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Entraining alpha activity using visual stimulation in patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain. A feasibility study

Arendsen

Henshaw

Brown

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Nonetheless, the current findings invite more robust and comprehensive research on the role of EEG alpha rhythm during bodily threatening events. Such note of caution is particularly relevant in light of the recent suggestion to manipulate alpha oscillations through non-invasive brain stimulation (Arendsen, Hugh-Jones, & Lloyd, 2018;Hohn, May, & Ploner, 2019) or sensory entrainment (Ecsy, Brown, & Jones, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the specificity of the relationship between brain alpha oscillations and tonic pain

Valentini

Halder

McInnersey

et al. 2019

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Recent research has pointed to alpha brain oscillations as a potential clinical biomarker for sensitivity to pain. In particular, researchers claimed that the slowing of individual alpha frequency (IAF) could be an objective marker of pain during prolonged nociceptive stimulation. However, prolonged pain has been also associated with increased IAF. To date, there is insufficient evidence to conclude that IAF can be a neural marker of pain.The current study aimed at elucidating the conflicting findings by assessing the specificity of the relationship between brain alpha oscillations and tonic pain. We recorded electroencephalography (EEG) on healthy volunteers during exposure to consecutive 5minute sessions of painful hot water immersion, innocuous warm water immersion and an aversive, non-painful auditory stimulus, matched by unpleasantness to the painful condition. Participants rated stimulus unpleasantness throughout each condition. We also asked participants to sit still with eyes closed and eyes open right before and after the three experimental conditions in order to obtain a robust estimate of baseline alpha. Our findings revealed both increased and decreased IAF during tonic hot stimulation depending on the alpha range targeted (7-13 Hz vs. 8-10 Hz). In addition, they provide mild evidence for a negative relationship between IAF and the unpleasantness of the experience. Finally, we could not identify a difference between IAF during tonic hot temperature and during tonic auditory experience. Altogether, these findings emphasize a twofold frequency pattern (increase vs. decrease) for IAF during tonic thermal pain, thus indicating the need for robust methodological scrutiny of IAF as a neural marker of pain.

show abstract

“…Несмотря на то, что имеется множество дополнительных методов обследования при данных заболеваниях: электромиография, вызванные потенциалы, МРТ, рентгенодиагностика и проч. диагноз в основном ставится путем скрупулёзного сбора анамнеза и клинической картины, что требует от врача времени и определенной подготовленности в диагностике данных заболеваний [1,2].…”

unclassified

Efficiency the Method of Quantitative Sensory Testing in the Diagnostics of Facial Chronic Pain Syndromes

Nahrapov¹

2018

Zdor. obraz. XXI veke (Ž. naučn. statej)

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Аннотация. В данной статье показана эффективность метода количественного сенсорного тестирования в диагностике и лечении хронических болевых синдромов в области лица. Было обследовано 155 пациентов, которые были распределены на группы по установленному диагнозу: группа невралгия тройничного нерва, группа невропатия тройничного нерва, группа миофасциальный болевой синдром лица, на фоне дисфункции височно-нижнечелюстного сустава (МФБСЛ). Так же была проведена ретроспективная оценка 157 историй болезней, в которой пациенты были распределены на такие же группы, но которым не выполнялся метод количественного сенсорного тестирования. Была доказана идентичность двух групп: по возрасту, клинической картине, выраженности болевого синдрома, срокам заболевания, и методам лечения. Для оценки эффективности метода оценивалось количество койко-дней, проведенных пациентом. Полученные данные говорят о снижении койко-дня в группе с использованием метода количественного сенсорного тестирования. Ключевые слова: количественное сенсорное тестирование, КСТ, хронические болевые синдромы, лицевые боли. Annotation. This article shows the effectiveness the method of quantitative sensory testing in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic facial pain syndromes. We examined 155 patients who were divided into groups according to the established diagnosis: trigeminal neuralgia, trigeminal nerve neuropathy, myofascial pain syndrome, with temporomandibular disorder. A retrospective evaluation of 157 case histories was also conducted, in which patients were allocated to the same groups, but they did not perform the quantitative sensory testing method. The identity of the two groups were proved: by age, clinical picture, severity of the pain syndrome, the timing of the disease, and the methods of treatment. To assess the effectiveness of the method, the number of patient days spent in hospital were evaluated. The data obtained indicate a decrease in the days spent in hospital in the group with the quantitative sensory testing.

show abstract

Cortical nociceptive processes are reduced by visual alpha‐band entrainment in the human brain

Cited by 16 publications

References 47 publications

Entraining alpha activity using visual stimulation in patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain. A feasibility study

Entraining alpha activity using visual stimulation in patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain. A feasibility study

Assessing the specificity of the relationship between brain alpha oscillations and tonic pain

Efficiency the Method of Quantitative Sensory Testing in the Diagnostics of Facial Chronic Pain Syndromes

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About