Review

Challenges of functional imaging research of pain in children

Simona Sava¹ , Alyssa A Lebel^1,2 , David S Leslie^3,4 , Athena Drosos¹ , Charles Berde³ , Lino Becerra^1,5 and David Borsook^1,5

¹  P.A.I.N. Group, Department of Radiology, Children's Hospital Boston, Massachuesetts, USA

²  P.A.I.N. group, Department of Anesthesiology, Children's Hospital Boston, Massachuesetts, USA

³  Department of Anesthesiology, Children's Hospital Boston, Massachuesetts, USA

⁴  Department of Medicine, Children's Hospital Boston, Massachuesetts, USA

⁵  Department of Psychiatry, McLean Hospital Belmont, Massachuesetts, USA

author email corresponding author email

Molecular Pain 2009, 5:30doi:10.1186/1744-8069-5-30

Published:	16 June 2009

Abstract

Functional imaging has revolutionized the neurosciences. In the pain field it has dramatically altered our understanding of how the brain undergoes significant functional, anatomical and chemical changes in patients with chronic pain. However, most studies have been performed in adults. Because functional imaging is non-invasive and can be performed in awake individuals, applications in children have become more prevalent, but only recently in the pain field. Measures of changes in the brains of children have important implications in understanding neural plasticity in response to acute and chronic pain in the developing brain. Such findings may have implications for treatments in children affected by chronic pain and provide novel insights into chronic pain syndromes in adults. In this review we summarize this potential and discuss specific concerns related to the imaging of pain in children.