Method and apparatus for objectively measuring pain, pain treatment and other related techniques
First Claim
1. A method of processing brain activity signals, the method comprising:
- selecting an experimental process which elicits a response in one or more reward/aversion regions of a subject;
applying a reward/aversion stimulus to the subject to elicit the response;
noninvasively obtaining signals of central nervous system (CNS) activity from the subject;
localizing signals to specific anatomical and functional CNS regions which participate in reward/aversion functions;
correlating the signals in the one or more reward/aversion brain regions to a type of pain; and
interpreting the correlation results as an indication of the type of pain in the subject, wherein correlating the signals from reward/aversion brain regions comprises evaluating the temporal nature of a neuroimaging signal using waveform based correlation analysis (WCA).
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Abstract
A method for measuring indices of brain activity includes non-invasively obtaining signals of central nervous system (CNS) activity, localizing signals to specific anatomical and functional CNS regions, correlating the signals from pain and reward brain regions, and interpreting the correlation results. The results of interpreting the correlation results can be used for objectively measuring, in individual humans or animals, their responses to motivationally salient stimuli including but not limited to stimuli which are internal or external, conscious or non-conscious, pharmacological or non-pharmacological therapies, and diseased based processes. This method for measuring brain activity in reward/aversive central nervous system regions, can further be used to determine the efficacy of compounds.
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Citations
31 Claims
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1. A method of processing brain activity signals, the method comprising:
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selecting an experimental process which elicits a response in one or more reward/aversion regions of a subject;
applying a reward/aversion stimulus to the subject to elicit the response;
noninvasively obtaining signals of central nervous system (CNS) activity from the subject;
localizing signals to specific anatomical and functional CNS regions which participate in reward/aversion functions;
correlating the signals in the one or more reward/aversion brain regions to a type of pain; and
interpreting the correlation results as an indication of the type of pain in the subject, wherein correlating the signals from reward/aversion brain regions comprises evaluating the temporal nature of a neuroimaging signal using waveform based correlation analysis (WCA). - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A method of determining the effect of a compound on pain in a subject, the method comprising
(a) administering to the a subject at least one of: - a drug, a gene product, a biopharmaceutical, a virus, a gene, one or more receptors, and a neurochemical;
(b) applying a stimulus to the subject, wherein the stimulus elicits a response in one or more reward/aversion regions of the subject; and
(c) measuring a brain response of the subject, wherein the measuring comprises;
noninvasively obtaining signals of central nervous system (CNS) activity from the subject;
(d) localizing signals to specific anatomical and functional CNS regions which participate in reward/aversion functions; and
(e) correlating the signals in the reward/aversion brain region to a type of pain, thereby determining the effect of the compound on pain in the subject. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28)
- a drug, a gene product, a biopharmaceutical, a virus, a gene, one or more receptors, and a neurochemical;
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29. A method for evaluating the efficacy of a treatment for pain comprising:
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non-invasively obtaining signals of activity from at least two different reward/aversion regions of the CNS;
quantifying the signals to generate a first pattern of activity;
administering a candidate treatment, excluding acupuncture;
non-invasively obtaining signals of activity from the at least two different reward/aversion regions of the CNS;
quantifying the signals to generate a second pattern of activity;
obtaining physiological or psychophysical data from the subject; and
correlating the first and second patterns and the physiological or psychophysical data, thereby evaluating the efficacy of the treatment for pain. - View Dependent Claims (30)
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31. A method for evaluating the efficacy of a treatment for pain comprising:
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non-invasively obtaining signals of activity from the nucleus accumbens (NAc);
quantifying the signals to generate a first pattern of activity;
administering a candidate treatment, excluding acupuncture;
non-invasively obtaining signals of activity from the NAc;
quantifying the signals to generate a second pattern of activity;
obtaining physiological or psychophysical data from the subject; and
correlating the first and second patterns and the physiological or psychophysical data, thereby evaluating the efficacy of the treatment for pain.
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Specification