Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42057056›Full record

ArticleJournal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation2026

Sensory and cortical biomarkers unveil pain modulation mechanisms induced by targeted multisensory neurostimulation.

Giuseppe Valerio Aurucci, Noemi Gozzi, Andrea Cimolato, Markus Wagner, Carl Moritz Zipser, Stanisa Raspopovic

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Giuseppe Valerio Aurucci *Neuroengineering Laboratory, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zürich, Tannenstrasse 1, 8092, Zürich, Switzerland.
Noemi Gozzi *Neuroengineering Laboratory, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zürich, Tannenstrasse 1, 8092, Zürich, Switzerland.
Andrea CimolatoCenter for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University of Vienna, 1090, Vienna, Austria.
Markus WagnerNeuroengineering Laboratory, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zürich, Tannenstrasse 1, 8092, Zürich, Switzerland.
Carl Moritz ZipserDepartment of Neurology and Neurophysiology and Spinal Cord Injury Center, Balgrist University Hospital, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Stanisa RaspopovicNeuroengineering Laboratory, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zürich, Tannenstrasse 1, 8092, Zürich, Switzerland. nesta.fale@gmail.com.

Funding

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung MOVEIT No. 197271
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundChronic neuropathic pain is a complex experience that poses a major challenge in personalized treatment. Identifying objective biomarkers of pain modulation is critical to validate emerging non-pharmacological therapies with reliable endpoints, overcoming the limitations of simplified subjective scales.

methodsHere, we introduce a multimodal monitoring framework that integrates behavioral, sensory, and cortical assessments to provide a comprehensive evaluation of a multisensory neurostimulation treatment combining immersive VR with targeted neurostimulation (VR+tSTIM). We compared the effects of this intervention with an active control in 18 participants with chronic neuropathic pain over multiple days.

resultsVR+tSTIM led to a clinically significant reduction in self-reported pain intensity. This reduction was accompanied by sensory measures, with participants in the VR+tSTIM group showing enhanced tactile acuity and improved proprioceptive accuracy, effects that did not appear in the control group. Treatment effectiveness was further associated with cortical EEG signatures of decreased gamma and delta power together with increased alpha power.

conclusionsThese findings identify potential sensory and cortical biomarkers associated with analgesia and suggest that pain relief in neuropathy may involve the modulation of both peripheral and central mechanisms. This comprehensive assessment paradigm establishes a foundation for the objective monitoring of treatment efficacy and advances the search for mechanistic biomarkers of pain modulation in clinical neuroengineering.

trial registrationThis study was approved by the Kantonale Ethikkommission Zürich (Nr. 2021-02258).

Indexed as

Cerebral CortexElectric Stimulation TherapyNeuralgiaPain ManagementAdultBiomarkersElectroencephalographyFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPain MeasurementBiomarkersBiomarkersEEGNeuromodulationNeuropathyNeurostimulationPainVR

Identifiers

PMID42057056
PMCPMC13270703

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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.