Technology Review article on how chronic pain associated with changes in the brain

I discovered an article appearing in a 2007 issue of Technology Review magazine discussing pioneering research showing that persisting pain is associated with distinct changes in the brains of people suffering from chronic pain.

For example, one study by A.V. Apkarian at Northwestern University found that one part of the prefrontal cortex known to be involved in decision making appears to have shrunk in chronic pain patients, while another part involved in emotion is hyperactive, suggesting that the emotional component of the pain experience grows over time, while the sensory facet diminishes.

The changes in brain morphology and function associated with chronification of pain, is often referred to as maladaptive plasticity. Neural plasticity refers to the brain’s ability to re-wire itself in response to experience (learning) and even injury. This, of course, is mostly a good thing. But as we know from our propensity to take on bad habits, the brain’s ability to learn is not limited to learning good things.

Check out the article athttp://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/19715/