As persistent pain is solely measured by self-report, research is currently being conducted to find objective methods of identifying physical pain in the brain. Researcher teams from various universities have discovered an imaging-based signature to predict pain sensitivity using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and machine learning. The neurologic pattern was found in several regions of the brain, and was discovered on an individual level. That being said, brain measures that are sensitive and specific to physical pain have not yet been identified, and social pain signatures are quite distinct.

Mathieu Roy, affiliate assistant professor at Concordia University, was part of the research team who conducted these studies. Dr. Roy will be discussing the discovery and clinical use of fMRI-based neurologic signatures of pain at Arrowhead's 10th Annual Pain & Migraine Therapeutics October 19-20, 2016 in Chicago, IL. For more information, visit http://paintherapeuticsummit.com.

A recent study that was published in The New England Journal of Medicine determines that fMRI holds promise for identifying objective measures of pain. In four studies involving a total of 114 individuals, researchers developed an fMRI-based measure that can predict a participant's pain intensity. These studies concluded that it is possible to use fMRI to assess pain elicited by heat in healthy persons. In the future, it will be crucial to conduct further studies to assess if the pain signature can predict clinical pain as well.

The 10th Annual Pain & Migraine Therapeutics Summit is the US's premier pain conference covering the field of pain research and therapeutics. With various stakeholders in pharmaceutical, biotech, device and medical communities attending, this conference will provide multi-faceted perspectives on the latest pain research. For more information, please download a brochure at: http://www.paintherapeuticsummit.com/index.php/brochure.

For more information, please contact:
John Waslif: Managing Director, Arrowhead Publishers
866-945-0263 ext 700
john.waslif@arrowheadpublishers.com

Rachel Donlon: Marketing Associate, Arrowhead Publishers
866-945-0263 ext 701
rachel.donlon@arrowheadpublishers.com