Neuromodulation Therapies for Chronic Pain: Mechanisms, Prediction, and Strategies
A Special Issue of Life (ISSN 2075-1729) belonging to the section "Medical Research".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2027 | Viewed by 216
Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Brain neuromodulation has emerged as a promising non-pharmacological approach for chronic pain management by directly targeting central nervous system mechanisms involved in pain processing. Established techniques, including transcranial direct current stimulation, transcranial alternating current stimulation and transcranial magnetic stimulation, have demonstrated beneficial effects across a range of chronic pain conditions. More recently, transcranial photobiomodulation has gained attention as an emerging modality that may modulate neural activity through light-based mechanisms. Despite these advances, treatment responses remain highly variable, underscoring the need to better understand underlying mechanisms and inter-individual differences. Advances in neuroimaging, including functional magnetic resonance imaging and functional near-infrared spectroscopy, have enabled objective characterization of brain function and treatment-related changes, offering new insights into neuromodulation effects.
This Special Issue aims to provide a focused overview of recent advances in neuromodulation therapies for chronic pain, with an emphasis on mechanisms of action, heterogeneous treatment effects and the development of personalized therapeutic strategies. In addition to established approaches, this issue will highlight emerging modalities and the integration of multimodal neuroimaging to elucidate treatment mechanisms. Furthermore, the application of artificial intelligence and machine-learning approaches to predict treatment response and optimize neuromodulation protocols will be explored. This topic aligns with the journal’s scope by bridging clinical, technological and translational perspectives in pain research.
In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:
- Mechanisms underlying brain neuromodulation in chronic pain
- Heterogeneous treatment effects and patient stratification
- Personalized neuromodulation approaches
- Multimodal approaches integrating neuromodulation with behavioral and psychological interventions
- Emerging neuromodulation techniques, including transcranial photobiomodulation
- Applications of functional magnetic resonance imaging and functional near-infrared spectroscopy
- Artificial intelligence and machine learning for prediction and optimization of treatment outcomes
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Chiyoung Lee
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- brain neuromodulation
- chronic pain
- multimodal approach
- neuroimaging
- heterogeneous treatment effects
- mechanisms of action
- artificial intelligence
- machine learning
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