Cavaleri Rocco, McLain Natalie J, Heindel Matthew, Schrepf Andrew, Rodriguez Larissa V, Kutch Jason J
Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Brain Stimulation and Rehabilitation (BrainStAR) Lab, School of Health Sciences, Western Sydney University, NSW, Australia.
Pain Rep. 2025 Mar 11;10(2):e1251. doi: 10.1097/PR9.0000000000001251. eCollection 2025 Apr.
Effective prevention and management strategies for chronic pain remain elusive. This has prompted investigations into biomarkers to better understand the mechanisms underlying pain development and persistence. One promising marker is low peak alpha frequency (PAF), an electroencephalography (EEG) measure that has been associated with increased sensitivity during acute experimental pain. However, findings regarding the relationship between PAF and chronic pain are variable, potentially due to disparate levels of central sensitization among chronic pain populations. This is evidenced by the variable extent of widespread pain, a phenotypic marker for central sensitization, observed across individuals with chronic pain.
To explore the impact of widespread pain on PAF among people with chronic pain.
Thirty-eight individuals with urologic chronic pelvic pain syndrome were categorized as having widespread (n = 24) or localized (n = 14) pain based upon self-reported body maps. Electroencephalography data were collected under resting conditions, and PAF was determined using spectral analysis.
Participants with widespread pain had a significantly lower global average PAF than those with localized pain, after controlling for age and sex. This relationship persisted even when accounting for pain intensity and duration. Peak alpha frequency differences were observed across all EEG electrodes, particularly in the sensorimotor and occipital regions.
Preliminary findings suggest that PAF may represent a potential biomarker for central sensitization in chronic pain, highlighting the importance of considering pain distribution in chronic pain research. Future studies with larger samples should investigate the neural mechanisms underlying these observations and the clinical utility of PAF in diverse chronic pain populations.
慢性疼痛的有效预防和管理策略仍然难以捉摸。这促使人们对生物标志物进行研究，以更好地理解疼痛发生和持续的潜在机制。一个有前景的标志物是低峰值阿尔法频率（PAF），这是一种脑电图（EEG）测量指标，与急性实验性疼痛期间的敏感性增加有关。然而，关于PAF与慢性疼痛之间关系的研究结果并不一致，这可能是由于慢性疼痛人群中中枢敏化程度不同所致。慢性疼痛患者中广泛疼痛的程度各不相同，而广泛疼痛是中枢敏化的一个表型标志物，这一现象证明了上述情况。
探讨广泛疼痛对慢性疼痛患者PAF的影响。
根据自我报告的身体疼痛部位图，将38名患有泌尿系统慢性盆腔疼痛综合征的个体分为广泛疼痛组（n = 24）和局部疼痛组（n = 14）。在静息状态下收集脑电图数据，并使用频谱分析确定PAF。
在控制年龄和性别后，广泛疼痛的参与者的全球平均PAF显著低于局部疼痛的参与者。即使考虑到疼痛强度和持续时间，这种关系仍然存在。在所有脑电图电极上均观察到峰值阿尔法频率差异，尤其是在感觉运动区和枕叶区域。
初步研究结果表明，PAF可能是慢性疼痛中枢敏化的潜在生物标志物，这突出了在慢性疼痛研究中考虑疼痛分布的重要性。未来更大样本量的研究应调查这些观察结果背后的神经机制以及PAF在不同慢性疼痛人群中的临床应用价值。
