ReviewFrontiers in molecular neuroscience2022
Non-invasive Brain Stimulation for Chronic Pain: State of the Art and Future Directions.
Review in Frontiers in molecular neuroscience, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
42 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 64 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Safety and effectiveness of non-invasive brain stimulation on mobility and balance function in children with cerebral palsy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2025Pooled it
- Brain stimulation targets for chronic pain: Insights from meta-analysis, functional connectivity and literature review.Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics · 2024Pooled it
- The effects of transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) on pain intensity of patients with fibromyalgia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC neurology · 2023Pooled it
- Efficacy of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on chronic migraine: A meta-analysis.Frontiers in neurology · 2022Pooled it
- Comparative Efficacy of Non-invasive Brain Stimulation for Pain, Anxiety, and Depression: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-analysis.Pain and therapy · 2026Review
- Pain Medicine Specialist: Championing High-Quality Development for Neuromodulation Technology.Current medical science · 2026Review
- Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation for Core Symptoms of Chronic Primary Pain: A Meta-Analysis of RCTs.Brain sciences · 2026Review
- Medial prefrontal cortex-targeted low-intensity focused ultrasound alleviates migraine-related allodynia and affective symptoms via modulating glutamate/GABA balance in mice.The journal of headache and pain · 2026Article
- Review
- Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Static and Repetitive Magnetic Stimulation in Cancer Therapy: A Scoping Review.Biomedicines · 2026Review
- Emerging Nonpharmacologic Analgesic Technologies in Anesthesia: Mechanisms, Evidence, and Future Directions for Pharmacologic Alternatives.Biomedicines · 2026Review
- Non-invasive brain stimulation for chronic low back pain: current techniques and future perspectives.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2026Article
- Evolving Concepts in the Diagnosis and Management of Fibromyalgia: A Moving Target.Journal of pain research · 2026Review
- Structural and Functional Brain Alterations in Postherpetic Neuralgia: A Systematic Review and Voxel-Wise Coordinate-Based Meta-Analysis via the SDM-PSI Method.Journal of pain research · 2026Review
- Polydopamine-Coated Poly(l-lactide) Nanofibers with Controlled Release of IL-10 for Effective Management of Peripheral and Central Neuropathic Pain in Rats.ACS biomaterials science & engineering · 2025Article
- Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on pain and pain-related outcomes: an umbrella review.The Korean journal of pain · 2025Article
- Article
- Development of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for central poststroke pain: A review.Medicine · 2025Review
- Microalgae and exercise: from molecular mechanisms and brain health to clinical perspectives in the context of 3P medicine.The EPMA journal · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
As a technique that can guide brain plasticity, non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) has the potential to improve the treatment of chronic pain (CP) because it can interfere with ongoing brain neural activity to regulate specific neural networks related to pain management. Treatments of CP with various forms of NIBS, such as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), using new parameters of stimulation have achieved encouraging results. Evidence of moderate quality indicates that high-frequency rTMS of the primary motor cortex has a clear effect on neuropathic pain (NP) and fibromyalgia. However, evidence on its effectiveness regarding pain relief in other CP conditions is conflicting. Concerning tDCS, evidence of low quality supports its benefit for CP treatment. However, evidence suggesting that it exerts a small treatment effect on NP and headaches is also conflicting. In this paper, we describe the underlying principles behind these commonly used stimulation techniques; and summarize the results of randomized controlled trials, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses. Future research should focus on a better evaluation of the short-term and long-term effectiveness of all NIBS techniques and whether they decrease healthcare use, as well as on the refinement of selection criteria.
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What OpenQuestion holds
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.