Therapeutic Perspectives of Non-invasive Brain Stimulation: the Example of Chronic Pain Management

Host

Albino Oliveira-Maia, MD, PhD, Neuropsychiatry Unit

Venue

Seminar room

Abstract

Various non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) techniques have demonstrated their efficacy in clinical practice for the treatment of different psychiatric or neurological disorders. The management of chronic pain syndromes is one of the best examples of development and therapeutic success of neuromodulation techniques. In particular, high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the precentral gyrus (primary motor cortex) presents a good level of evidence of efficacy in producing analgesic effects in patients suffering from chronic pain. However, the optimal stimulation parameters to be applied remain to be defined for some of them. In this presentation, I will review the principles and mechanisms of action of rTMS to produce analgesic effects, the main technical points to be addressed in the spatial (targeting) and temporal (timing) domains, current and future methodological developments, and the expected results of the use of rTMS for treating chronic pain in clinical practice. In particular, the personalization of rTMS protocols, based on neurophysiological or neuroimaging approaches to assess functional cortical excitability and connectivity, constitutes a significant avenue for improving the therapeutic interest of NIBS. Individual modelling of neural network modulation protocols will optimize the efficacy of NIBS in correcting specific brain dysfunctions presented by each patient.

Biography

Jean-Pascal Lefaucheur is a Neurologist, Professor of Clinical Neurophysiology at the Henri Mondor Hospital, Paris-Est University, France. He’s also the Vice-President of the French Society of Clinical Neurophysiology and a Deputy Editor of Clinical Neurophysiology. With  394 articles indexed in PubMed, he has expertise in neurophysiological assessment and therapeutic neuromodulation for various neurological diseases, particularly peripheral nerve disorders and neuropathic pain.
 

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About CR Colloquia Series

Champalimaud Research (CR) Colloquia Series is a seminar programme organised by the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown to promote the discussion about the most interesting and significant questions in neuroscience and physiology & cancer with appointed speakers by the CR Community.