Can Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) Modulate the Affective Component of Chronic Low Back Pain (CLBP)?

Pain has both nociceptive (sensory) and emotional (affective) components (IASP 2016). CLBP remains a significant medical burden; annual prevalence is 15%-45% (Manchikanti et al. 2009). Current pain treatments are primarily analgesic (e.g. opioids) with serious side effects. Limited options (cognitive behavioral therapy [CBT], biofeedback) exist to address the affective component, which causes significant disability and psychiatric sequelae of fear avoidance, anxiety, depression, and suicide. The emerging neuromodulation technique, tDCS, has been applied to the sensory component of pain.

Source: Biological Psychiatry - April 29, 2017 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Timothy Mariano, Frederick Burgess, Marguerite Bowker, Jason Kirschner, Richard Jones, Chris Halladay, Michael Stein, Benjamin Greenberg Source Type: research