Abstract
The effects of spinal cord stimulation (SCS) on the neuronal activity of the brain were examined by single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in patients with chronic neuropathic pain. Regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) in each cortical area and the thalamus decreased in several patients without SCS. Patients with central pain due to thalamic hemorrhage showed a decrease in rCBF in the thalamus contralateral to the painful side. During the stimulation period in SCS, parietal rCBF decreased on the side contralateral to the pain. In contrast, rCBF increased in the bilateral frontal and anterior cingulate cortex and in the contralateral temporal lobe in half of the patients in whom SCS was effective in relieving pain. The decrease in thalamic rCBF in two patients with central pain was improved by the SCS therapy; however, pain was relieved in only one of them. In the majority of patients in whom SCS was not effective, there was no change in rCBF in various cortical areas, even after SCS. These results suggest that, in patients with chronic neuropathic pain, SCS modulates the neuronal activities of several brain areas that are believed to be associated with pain processing.
