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Dear Readers, Welcome to the latest issue of Micr
We all feel physical pain in various ways, but people with nerve injuries frequently have a dysfunctional pain reduction system, making them particularly prone to distress.
Now researchers have found that virtual reality (VR) can reduce types of pain typically found in patients with nerve injuries – which VR can raise the dysfunctional pain suppression system, providing individuals with chronic pain a possible game-changing hope.
Dr Sam Hughes, Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Plymouth, led the research focusing on conditioned pain modulation (CPM) – a pain inhibitory pathway in humans.
He and colleagues at Imperial College London had previously published work demonstrating that watching soothing 360-degree scenes of the Arctic in virtual reality can help ease pain symptoms similar to those experienced during sunburn.
In the current study they showed that VR can also reduce pain symptoms like prickling and pain after touch, which are frequently seen in patients with nerve injury.
They also have gone one step further and quantified VR’s direct effects on CPM. CPM is dysfunctional in patients with nerve injury, so by knowing what can enhance its own action, scientists can help stimulate the body’s natural pain inhibiting procedure.
The study, published in The Journal of Infection , showed that 360-degree scenes of the Arctic in virtual reality had an effect on the CPM efficiency, while the 2D versions of the same scenes (described as’sham VR’) reduced CPM efficiency.
It’s brilliant that we’ve seen these results as it shows more evidence that virtual reality can not only reduce pain perception in human models of chronic pain, but also gives us insight into the mechanisms behind this effect. The next step of course is to conduct the study with people who experience chronic pain to see if it works for them.
If it does work, it could be a really helpful in forming part of ongoing pain management by helping to target the dysfunctions in the brain that underpin chronic pain.”
Dr Sam Hughes, Lecturer in Psychology, University of Plymouth
University of Plymouth
Mehesz, E., et al. (2021) Exposure to an Immersive Virtual Reality Environment can Modulate Perceptual Correlates of Endogenous Analgesia and Central Sensitization in Healthy Volunteers. The Journal of Pain. doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2020.12.007.
