Imaging as a Pain Biomarker

Abstract

In recent years, the hunt for objective biomarkers in chronic pain has intensified, as interest has grown in precision medicine techniques, and the global opioid crisis has underscored the need to accelerate the pace of pain research. A growing body of neuroimaging literature suggests that chronic pain is associated with various alterations in regional brain areas as well as whole-brain networks, which may represent unique radiological pain signatures or biomarkers to guide diagnosis, response, and treatment. Here, we provide a comprehensive and updated literature review on investigative efforts to identify neuroimaging biomarkers for pain.

Keywords: Biomarker; Chronic pain; DTI; Diffusion; Functional; Imaging; MRI; fMRI.