Brain waves may be a reliable biomarker for predicting future pain sensitivity

Brain waves, also known as brain rhythms, could be used to reliably determine how sensitive we are to pain, according to new research from scientists at the University of Birmingham (UK) and the University of Maryland School of Dentistry (MD, USA). The research, which has been published in the journal Cerebral Cortex, has identified that alpha waves strongly correlate with the body’s susceptibility or resilience to pain. The investigators anticipate that measuring an individual’s alpha wave frequency can be a reliable pain indication method. “Understanding a patient’s pain sensitivity could be really important in, for example, deciding whether an elective...