Measuring pain and nociception: Through the glasses of a computational scientist. Transdisciplinary overview of methods

Abstract

In a healthy state, pain plays an important role in natural biofeedback loops and helps to detect and prevent potentially harmful stimuli and situations. However, pain can become chronic and as such a pathological condition, losing its informative and adaptive function. Efficient pain treatment remains a largely unmet clinical need. One promising route to improve the characterization of pain, and with that the potential for more effective pain therapies, is the integration of different data modalities through cutting edge computational methods. Using these methods, multiscale, complex, and network models of pain signaling can be created and utilized for the benefit of patients. Such models require collaborative work of experts from different research domains such as medicine, biology, physiology, psychology as well as mathematics and data science. Efficient work of collaborative teams requires developing of a common language and common level of understanding as a prerequisite. One of ways to meet this need is to provide easy to comprehend overviews of certain topics within the pain research domain. Here, we propose such an overview on the topic of pain assessment in humans for computational researchers. Quantifications related to pain are necessary for building computational models. However, as defined by the International Association of the Study of Pain (IASP), pain is a sensory and emotional experience and thus, it cannot be measured and quantified objectively. This results in a need for clear distinctions between nociception, pain and correlates of pain. Therefore, here we review methods to assess pain as a percept and nociception as a biological basis for this percept in humans, with the goal of creating a roadmap of modelling options.

Action Potential Features: Computation and Spike Sorting of Human C-Nociceptor Action Potentials as obtained via Microneurography Recordings

“…Microneurography is an electrophysiological method enabling the extracellular recording of single action potentials (APs) of peripheral nerve bers in awake humans [1,2]. It offers an exclusive approach to examining neuronal discharges leading to itch and pain sensations in both healthy volunteers and patients suffering from chronic pain and itch [3]. Previous microneurography studies showed, for example, the links between spontaneous activity in C-bers and neuropathic pain in humans [4].…”

odML-Tables as a Metadata Standard in Microneurography

“…Here, we present a solution for managing metadata based on odML and odML-tables for microneurography (see [3,4] for more details), a unique electrophysiological method for observing the activity of single peripheral nerve fibers in awake healthy humans and patients with neuropathy, chronic pain or itch [5,6]. In the field of microneurography, each direct neural recording is very valuable, particularly from patients with diseases caused by rare genetic variants.…”

Evaluation of Anti-nociceptive and Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Markhamia tomentosa Cream Co-Formulated with Eucalyptus Oil

“…However, nociception can best be described as the neurological processing and encoding of intense and noxious stimuli in the human body. Nociceptive signals are mainly expressed as a pain sensation [2]. Pain is a feeling sometimes characterized by inflammation.…”