Wednesday, June 23, 2004
Pain in the Brain
Virtual reality treatment has been previously used to help patients with pain. A new study not only confirms this, but also shows that VR alters how the brain experiences pain as well: pain-related activity was reduced in the anterior cingulate cortex, primary and secondary somatosensory cortex, insula, and thalamus.
This is cool for many reasons. Pain management is a big problem: many patients refuse necessary procedures they believe will be painful, and when they do have them, it is painful. I wonder if this kind of treatment would help with chronic pain? That'd be good too.
It makes sense: when you're in pain, you focus on something else, and it bothers you less, so VR changes what you're focused on more systematically.
This is cool for many reasons. Pain management is a big problem: many patients refuse necessary procedures they believe will be painful, and when they do have them, it is painful. I wonder if this kind of treatment would help with chronic pain? That'd be good too.
It makes sense: when you're in pain, you focus on something else, and it bothers you less, so VR changes what you're focused on more systematically.
Comments:
Post a Comment
