Research from Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) uses a new imaging technique, arterial spin labeling, to show the areas of the brain that are activated when patients with low back pain have a worsening of their usual, chronic pain. This research is published in the August issue of the journal Anesthesiology. “This study is a first step towards providing tools to objectively describe someone’s chronic pain which is a subjective experience. We’ve found that when a patient has worsening of their usual pain, there are changes in the activity of the brain,” said Ajay Wasan, MD, MSc, lead author of the paper and a researcher in the Pain Management Center at BWH. “These changes occur in the network of areas in the brain that process pain and mood.”
