Oral health researchers study visible effects of pain
A team of oral health researchers at King’s College, London have been investigating the visible effects of pain by studying the brain using state of the art imaging technology.
The study, which is a pioneering project in the field, uses FMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) scanning technology to generate images of the brain; the latest trials charted the reaction of the brain to having wisdom teeth extracted in 16 male patients. The images showed a visible change in the images of the brain following the procedure; certain regions of the brain were seen to flare up on the imaging system in accordance to where the patients said they could feel pain.
Until now, pain has been considered a subjective entity, with research failing to find a suitable objective measure of the effects of pain on the body. Now, the work of the oral health team at King’s College has opened a new dimension into pain research and provided an objective measure for the first time. It is being hailed by some scientists as a groundbreaking study.
However, some critics have accused the study of oversimplifying the complexity of pain by restricting the study solely to short bouts of localised severe pain. The comments, which were posted on the Popsci website, which accompanies the Popular Scientist magazine, suggest that the project is almost useless because it overlooks the complex relationship between the memory and emotions involved in pain.
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