News Neuroscience

Brain implants have revealed a signature for chronic pain

By measuring pain signals over months, a new study offers an expansive view of the debilitating condition

Two images of a brain. The image on the left shows a forward-facing brain scan with a purple section in the middle and yellow sections on the bottom, both with red dots scattered throughout the colored sections. The image on the right is a profile view of the same brain with the same colored section.

In a new study, implanted electrodes (red dots) listened to activity in people with chronic pain in two brain regions: the anterior cingulate cortex, or ACC (purple), and the orbitofrontal cortex, or OFC (yellow).

P. Shirvalkar

By Laura Sanders

Scientists can see chronic pain in the brain with new clarity.