ReviewBrain sciences2021
Deep Brain Stimulation of the Posterior Insula in Chronic Pain: A Theoretical Framework.
Review in Brain sciences, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed.
- Impact of adverse life experiences on pain, depression, anxiety, and comorbidities: a youth longitudinal sample.Pain reports · 2026Article
- Decreased Oxytocin Mediates PVN-CA2 and PVN-PrL in Sleep Deprivation-Induced Social Memory Deficits.Research (Washington, D.C.) · 2026Article
- Exploring Neural Signaling Patterns and Their Physiological Origins in Fibromyalgia by Means of Functional MRI Guided by a Review of the Literature.Brain sciences · 2025Article
- Retrieval of conditioned immune response in male mice is mediated by an anterior-posterior insula circuit.Nature neuroscience · 2025Article
- Local Field Potential Biomarkers of Non-Motor Symptoms in Parkinson's Disease: Insights From the Subthalamic Nucleus in Deep Brain Stimulation.The European journal of neuroscience · 2025Review
- Baseline Functional Connectivity of the Mesolimbic, Salience, and Sensorimotor Systems Predicts Responses to Psychological Therapies for Chronic Low Back Pain With Comorbid Depression: A Functional MRI Study.Brain and behavior · 2025Article
- Assessing the Modulatory Effects of tDCS and Acupuncture on Cerebral Blood Flow in Chronic Low Back Pain Using Arterial Spin Labeling Perfusion Imaging.Brain sciences · 2025Article
- Sensing the Self: The Role of the Insula and Interoception in Body Image.Current topics in behavioral neurosciences · 2025Review
- Deep brain stimulation for chronic pain: mechanisms, clinical applications, limitations, and future directions.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Review
- Comprehensive Review on Personalized Pain Assessment and Multimodal Interventions for Postoperative Recovery Optimization.Journal of pain research · 2025Review
- Resting-State Functional Connectivity Profile of Insular Subregions.Brain sciences · 2024Article
- Article
- Deciphering the functional role of insular cortex stratification in trigeminal neuropathic pain.The journal of headache and pain · 2024Review
- Anatomo-physiological basis and applied techniques of electrical neuromodulation in chronic pain.Journal of anesthesia, analgesia and critical care · 2024Review
- The insula: Leveraging cellular and systems-level research to better understand its roles in health and schizophrenia.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2024Review
- Insula→Amygdala and Insula→Thalamus Pathways Are Involved in Comorbid Chronic Pain and Depression-Like Behavior in Mice.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2024Article
- Pain mechanisms in the transgender individual: a review.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Current Neurostimulation Therapies for Chronic Pain Conditions.Current pain and headache reports · 2023Review
- Brain stimulation for chronic pain management: a narrative review of analgesic mechanisms and clinical evidence.Neurosurgical review · 2023Review
- Non-invasive neuromodulation of sub-regions of the human insula differentially affect pain processing and heart-rate variability.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
introductionTo date, clinical trials of deep brain stimulation (DBS) for refractory chronic pain have yielded unsatisfying results. Recent evidence suggests that the posterior insula may represent a promising DBS target for this indication.
methodsWe present a narrative review highlighting the theoretical basis of posterior insula DBS in patients with chronic pain.
resultsNeuroanatomical studies identified the posterior insula as an important cortical relay center for pain and interoception. Intracranial neuronal recordings showed that the earliest response to painful laser stimulation occurs in the posterior insula. The posterior insula is one of the only regions in the brain whose low-frequency electrical stimulation can elicit painful sensations. Most chronic pain syndromes, such as fibromyalgia, had abnormal functional connectivity of the posterior insula on functional imaging. Finally, preliminary results indicated that high-frequency electrical stimulation of the posterior insula can acutely increase pain thresholds.
conclusionIn light of the converging evidence from neuroanatomical, brain lesion, neuroimaging, and intracranial recording and stimulation as well as non-invasive stimulation studies, it appears that the insula is a critical hub for central integration and processing of painful stimuli, whose high-frequency electrical stimulation has the potential to relieve patients from the sensory and affective burden of chronic pain.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.