An Innovative EEG-Based Pain Identification and Quantification: A Pilot Study

Overview

Journal Sensors (Basel)

Publisher MDPI

Specialty Biotechnology

Date 2024 Jun 27

PMID 38931657

Authors

Colince Meli Segning

Rubens A DA Silva

Suzy Ngomo

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Objective: The present pilot study aimed to propose an innovative scale-independent measure based on electroencephalographic (EEG) signals for the identification and quantification of the magnitude of chronic pain.

Methods: EEG data were collected from three groups of participants at rest: seven healthy participants with pain, 15 healthy participants submitted to thermal pain, and 66 participants living with chronic pain. Every 30 s, the pain intensity score felt by the participant was also recorded. Electrodes positioned in the contralateral motor region were of interest. After EEG preprocessing, a complex analytical signal was obtained using Hilbert transform, and the upper envelope of the EEG signal was extracted. The average coefficient of variation of the upper envelope of the signal was then calculated for the beta (13-30 Hz) band and proposed as a new EEG-based indicator, namely Piq, to identify and quantify pain.

Main Results: The main results are as follows: (1) A Piq threshold at 10%, that is, Piq ≥ 10%, indicates the presence of pain, and (2) the higher the Piq (%), the higher the extent of pain.

Conclusions: This finding indicates that Piq can objectively identify and quantify pain in a population living with chronic pain. This new EEG-based indicator can be used for objective pain assessment based on the neurophysiological body response to pain.

Significance: Objective pain assessment is a valuable decision-making aid and an important contribution to pain management and monitoring.

References

Diaz J, Bassi A, Coolen A, Vivaldi E, Letelier J . Envelope analysis links oscillatory and arrhythmic EEG activities to two types of neuronal synchronization. Neuroimage. 2018; 172:575-585. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.01.063. View

Stoopler M, Choiniere M, Nam A, Guigui A, Walfish L, Mohamed N . Chronic pain-related consultations to the emergency department of children with complex pain conditions: A retrospective analysis of healthcare utilization and costs. Can J Pain. 2022; 6(1):86-94. PMC: 9225287. DOI: 10.1080/24740527.2022.2070840. View

Mussigmann T, Bardel B, Lefaucheur J . Resting-state electroencephalography (EEG) biomarkers of chronic neuropathic pain. A systematic review. Neuroimage. 2022; 258:119351. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119351. View

Dworkin R, Turk D, Wyrwich K, Beaton D, Cleeland C, Farrar J . Interpreting the clinical importance of treatment outcomes in chronic pain clinical trials: IMMPACT recommendations. J Pain. 2007; 9(2):105-21. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2007.09.005. View

Bouffard J, Bouyer L, Roy J, Mercier C . Pain Induced during Both the Acquisition and Retention Phases of Locomotor Adaptation Does Not Interfere with Improvements in Motor Performance. Neural Plast. 2017; 2016:8539096. PMC: 5178857. DOI: 10.1155/2016/8539096. View

Farzan F, Bortoletto M . Identification and verification of a 'true' TMS evoked potential in TMS-EEG. J Neurosci Methods. 2022; 378:109651. DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2022.109651. View

LaMotte R, Thalhammer J, Robinson C . Peripheral neural correlates of magnitude of cutaneous pain and hyperalgesia: a comparison of neural events in monkey with sensory judgments in human. J Neurophysiol. 1983; 50(1):1-26. DOI: 10.1152/jn.1983.50.1.1. View

Diers M, de Vos C, Gandhi W, Hoeppli M, Becker S, Bock E . Induced oscillatory signaling in the beta frequency of top-down pain modulation. Pain Rep. 2020; 5(1):e806. PMC: 7004500. DOI: 10.1097/PR9.0000000000000806. View

Nickel M, May E, Tiemann L, Schmidt P, Postorino M, Ta Dinh S . Brain oscillations differentially encode noxious stimulus intensity and pain intensity. Neuroimage. 2017; 148:141-147. PMC: 5349759. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.01.011. View

10.

Strulov L, Zimmer E, Granot M, Tamir A, Jakobi P, Lowenstein L . Pain catastrophizing, response to experimental heat stimuli, and post-cesarean section pain. J Pain. 2006; 8(3):273-9. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2006.09.004. View

11.

OConnell N, Marston L, Spencer S, DeSouza L, Wand B . Non-invasive brain stimulation techniques for chronic pain. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2018; 3:CD008208. PMC: 7039253. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD008208.pub4. View

12.

Shao S, Shen K, Yu K, Wilder-Smith E, Li X . Frequency-domain EEG source analysis for acute tonic cold pain perception. Clin Neurophysiol. 2012; 123(10):2042-9. DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2012.02.084. View

13.

Maempel J, Clement N, Brenkel I, Walmsley P . Validation of a prediction model that allows direct comparison of the Oxford Knee Score and American Knee Society clinical rating system. Bone Joint J. 2015; 97-B(4):503-9. DOI: 10.1302/0301-620X.97B4.34867. View

14.

Power J, Lynch C, Dubin M, Silver B, Martin A, Jones R . Characteristics of respiratory measures in young adults scanned at rest, including systematic changes and "missed" deep breaths. Neuroimage. 2019; 204:116234. PMC: 6916722. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116234. View

15.

Volz M, Medeiros L, Tarrago M, Vidor L, DallAgnol L, Deitos A . The relationship between cortical excitability and pain catastrophizing in myofascial pain. J Pain. 2013; 14(10):1140-7. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2013.04.013. View

16.

Zamm A, Debener S, Bauer A, Bleichner M, Demos A, Palmer C . Amplitude envelope correlations measure synchronous cortical oscillations in performing musicians. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2018; . DOI: 10.1111/nyas.13738. View

17.

Wiffen P, Derry S, Bell R, Rice A, Tolle T, Phillips T . Gabapentin for chronic neuropathic pain in adults. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2017; 6:CD007938. PMC: 6452908. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD007938.pub4. View

18.

Schnakers C, Zasler N . Pain assessment and management in disorders of consciousness. Curr Opin Neurol. 2007; 20(6):620-6. DOI: 10.1097/WCO.0b013e3282f169d9. View

19.

Salinsky M, Oken B, Storzbach D, Dodrill C . Assessment of CNS effects of antiepileptic drugs by using quantitative EEG measures. Epilepsia. 2003; 44(8):1042-50. DOI: 10.1046/j.1528-1157.2003.60602.x. View

20.

Taran S, Bajaj V . Emotion recognition from single-channel EEG signals using a two-stage correlation and instantaneous frequency-based filtering method. Comput Methods Programs Biomed. 2019; 173:157-165. DOI: 10.1016/j.cmpb.2019.03.015. View