Cognitive behavioural therapy can alter grey matter of people with chronic pain

An increase in grey matter correlates with a decrease in catastrophising in the brains of people with chronic pain who have cognitive behavioural therapy, says a study published in Pain.

Previous research has found that people with chronic pain have reduced grey matter in areas of the brain related to the anticipation, experience and transmission of pain. But until now there hasn’t been much research on the plasticity of the brain in response to psychological interventions.

So a team from the US investigated grey matter changes after cognitive behavioural therapy in people with chronic pain. They looked at brain scans of 13 people with chronic pain before and after 11 weeks of cognitive behavioural therapy and compared them to scans of 13 healthy people.

People who had cognitive behavioural therapy were introduced to relaxation techniques for better stress and pain control, and were showed how to identify and diminish pain catastrophising, a hallmark of chronic pain when people anticipate the worst about pain.

The result was significant improvements in clinical measures and increased grey matter in many areas of the brain. The increase in grey matter reflects an improvement in the modulation of pain, or better emotional or mental assessment of their pain, suggests the research team.

Future studies involving more people will look at the specific roles of cognitive behavioural therapy on grey matter and brain function.

To read the original research visit http://www.jpain.org/article/PIIS1526590013011796/abstract.