Please use the form below to submit comments. Also provide an e-mail address and name. Your e-mail address and/or name will be used only to communicate with you about this or future comments you may submit. I am particularly keen to receive references to published material that contradicts the assertions and arguments I have made.
By submitting the above comment, I grant to Ross Alan Hangartner the right to incorporate the comment in full or in part, literally, paraphrased, or conceptually, as he sees fit, into State of Pain or other writings that he may create in the future. However, I don't grant permission to include my name or e-mail address, or to use them in any other way than to contact me for follow-up. I understand that by submitting the comment I acquire no right of any kind in State of Pain or other writings of Ross Alan Hangartner.
Last updated: Sat, Mar 22, 2025
Major research results that have come from brain imaging include identification of the pain network (The Brain's Architecture and its Role in Pain) and the finding that chronic pain is consistently accompanied by reductions in gray matter in particular areas of the brain (see Structural Alterations in the Pain Matrix Under Chronic Pain). Brain imaging has played an important role in establishing FMS as a legitimate pain syndrome within the medical community. PET studies have shown low blood flows in certain parts of the pain network in FMS patients, and fMRI studies have shown reduced effectiveness of descending pain modulation in these patients.
Although brain imaging has become a very important research tool, it isn't part of the routine diagnostic or treatment processes for any pain conditions at this time. Although imaging can identify which brain areas are active during pain, it can't tell how much the subject hurts. That's still a hope for the future.