Electroencephalographic correlates of pain catastrophizing in chronic musculoskeletal pain: a scoping review.

Intro: Individuals with chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMP) and high pain catastrophizing demonstrate functional and structural brain changes via functional magnetic resonance imaging that may serve as useful neural correlates. Yet, few studies take advantage of electroencephalography (EEG), a more cost effective and accessible tool. Utilizing EEG to further establish clinical characteristics of pain catastrophizing may assist in developing novel interventions that modulate brain activity and expand the depth at which CMP is treated.

Methods: Search strings were entered into PubMed, ProQuest Central, and Scopus and included keywords such as pain catastrophizing and electroencephalography. Articles retrieved underwent blinded review by two independent reviewers.

Results: Seven studies identified significant relationships between EEG measures and pain catastrophizing while five studies found no relationship. Increased pain catastrophizing was found to be correlated with decreased P2 amplitudes, lower signal attenuation following sensory stimuli, increased lagged coherence connectivity, and lower frontal apply asymmetries.

Conclusion: Low-quality evidence demonstrates that neurophysiological relationships may exist between pain catastrophizing and brain regions commonly associated with pain processing. These relationships highlight potential targets for novel interventions aiming to modulate those brain regions to promote recovery of CMP. Further research is needed to better understand the relationship between pain catastrophizing and EEG measures.