Noninvasive Brain Stimulation for Pain Relief
Noninvasive Brain Stimulation for Pain Relief
Non-invasive brain stimulation techniques, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and
 transcranial focused ultrasound (FUS), is be applied to healthy human subjects, acute pain
 patients, and chronic pain patients to investigate their uses for pain relief.
The research team will be using non-invasive brain stimulation techniques, transcranial
 magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial focused ultrasound (FUS) to investigate their
 uses for pain relief in humans: healthy human subjects, acute pain patients, and chronic pain
 patients. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings will be
 collected to achieve the following objectives:

 Objective 1 aims to determine the effects of noninvasive brain stimulation on the
 pain-related brain activities during pain processing. We hypothesize that noninvasive brain
 stimulation approaches will increase or decrease cortical activity upon processing painful
 input.

 Objective 2 aims to determine the effects of noninvasive brain stimulation on pain intensity
 and/or pain-related behavioral assessments. We hypothesize that noninvasive brain stimulation
 will influence pain-intensity and/or pain-related behavioral assessments.

 Objective 3 aims to investigate the correlation between brain activity and pain relief after
 noninvasive brain stimulation. We hypothesize that noninvasive brain stimulation will
 suppress cortical activity in pain-related brain areas, reduce pain intensity, and/or improve
 pain-related behavioral assessments.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  Healthy adults between 18 and 80 years of age.

 -  Chronic and Acute pain patients: must have an MRI (for ultrasound targeting)

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  Direct report to the study team member

 -  History of brain surgery

 -  History of seizure

 -  Pregnant

 -  Have alcohol consumption exceeding 50 drinks/month

 -  Have history of opioid abuse (all subjects), or any recent opioid use (healthy
 controls)

 -  Have implant like pacemaker and aneurysm clip

 -  Current of psychiatric disease such as anxiety or depression, which is not optimally
 treated

 -  Current infection

 -  Current wound on the skin of upper and lower extremities

 -  Chronic pain patients: current chronic pain is not optimal controlled by pain
 medications (i.e. Pain VAS >5)