Predicting Chronic Pain

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with Dr. Vania Apkarian, a world renowned neuroscientist at Northwestern University. He talks about his current research aimed at predicting the likelihood of a patient developing chronic pain following a surgery. To date, the predictive markers his research has identified have shown an accuracy of greater than 80%. He explains how neural circuits in different regions of the brain change as chronic pain develops, making clinical interventions more difficult. Techniques that help patients create new neural connections to replace these chronic pain circuits can be very effective.

Vania Apkarian, MD is Professor of Neuroscience, Anesthesia, PM&R and director of Center of Translational Pain Research at Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois. His research involves human brain imaging and animal mechanistic studies mainly in the topics of chronic pain and of opiate addiction in chronic pain. He has been studying brain predictors of placebo response as well as brain properties involved in perception in general. His initial training was in electrical engineering and he has been conducting neuroscience research for over 3 decades.