The Use of Resting State, fMRI and DTI in the Identification of Chronic Pain Conditions

The Use of Resting State, fMRI and DTI in the Identification of Chronic Pain Conditions

Resting state fMRI scans of chronic pain sufferers will be compared to those of healthy normals and may be sufficiently different to allow a high level of classification accuracy of whether subjects have chronic pain. In addition, investigators will utilize DTI and a brief activation state using pain rumination to assess whether investigators can reliably find differences between chronic pain sufferers and healthy normals.

Resting state fMRI scans of chronic pain sufferers may be sufficiently different from scans of normal subjects to allow a high level of classification accuracy of whether subjects have chronic pain. In addition, investigators will utilize DTI and a brief activation state using pain rumination to assess whether investigators can reliably find differences between chronic pain sufferers and healthy normals. The analysis will use pattern recognition methods in a leave N out cross validation design. The success of the classifications will be the mean of all the validation runs.

Inclusion Criteria:

Daily Pain lasting for more than 6 months. Ages eligible for study are between 20 and 70 years.

Exclusion Criteria:

Adults unable to consent Children, teenagers Pregnant women Prisoners Subjects who do not know English MRI exclusion criteria