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Neuroplastix


Change the Brain; Relieve the Pain; Transform the Person

Learning Persistent Pain


Look at the graphic on page 27 of the Neuroplastic Transformation workbook. It shows one of the main differences of acute and persistent pain. The same 9 regions of the brain involved with pain perception are activated in acute and persistent pain, more real estate in these regions is dedicated to pain, however, when it becomes persistent. This expansion of the pain map sets up pathways involving molecules, brain cells, circuits and networks that make the person involved more susceptible to developing persistent pain later in life with other physical and emotional trauma.

While brain networks physically wire new synapses to connect to each other, they also connect via rhythmic frequencies. This means that large networks in the brain influence each other through both direct physical connections of synapses, as well as mutual rhythmic linking of electrical activity. Lower frequency linking exemplifies network coherence and coordination. Higher frequency resonance between networks means disruption. The Default Mode Network (DMN) has both an anterior part in the front of the brain and a posterior part in the back of the brain. When pain stimuli ramp up frequencies between the Fronto Insular Network (FIN) and the anterior DMN
a disruption of one’s sense of self occurs.

© 2012 Michael Moskowitz, Marla Golden Contact