ASA committee chair speaks about brain signatures for chronic pain on HealthDay

David Dickerson, M.D., chair of ASA’s Committee on Pain Medicine, was quoted on HealthDay regarding a study by Prasad Shirvalkar, M.D., and colleagues, which found that brain activity caused by chronic pain is different from short-term pain. Researchers used electrode implants to figure out which regions of the brain become active when people are in pain. "Chronic pain is not something that protects us. It's actually our protective machinery going awry. And what we're seeing here is that it's actually even in a different part of the brain," he said. The piece was picked up by U.S. News & World Report, St. Louis Post Dispatch, and Arizona Daily Star, among other outlets. (Login or subscription may be required.)