rtMRI biofeedback to control pain
Rein on pain lays mainly in the brain, researchers find
People looking at their own anterior cingulate are able to control their pain. Neat.
Importantly, here are the controls cited in the press release:
Researchers used multiple control groups to ensure against this: The first remained outside the MRI machine; the second received no imaging feedback; the third was shown different areas of the brain that don’t process pain; and members of the fourth group were shown someone else’s brain activity. None of the control subjects showed an ability to control pain levels.
Full PNAS article here. (free via Open Access)