However, the researchers indicated that in the chronic pain group, one of the nodes of this network did not quiet down unlike in the pain-free subjects. Chialvo said that this constant firing of neurons these regions of the brain coul eben lead to permanent damge.

"We know when neurons fire too much they may change their connections with other neurons and or even die because they can't sustain high activity for so long. If you are a chronic pain patient, you have pain 24 hours a day, seven days a week, every minute of your life. That permanent perception of pain in your brain makes these areas in your brain continuously active. This continuous dysfunction in the equilibrium of the brain can change the wiring forever and could hurt the brain,” said Chialvo.

He also assumed that the subsequent changes in wiring "may make it harder for you to make a decision or be in a good mood to get up in the morning. It could be that pain produces depression and the other reported abnormalities because it disturbs the balance of the brain as a whole."

According to him the findings show that it is essential to study new approaches to treat patients not just to control their pain but also to assess and check the dysfunction that may be generated in the brain by the chronic pain.

The study is published in The Journal of Neuroscience.

Source-ANI
SRM/L