Neurophysiology of Central Pain in Parkinson Disease

Central pain in PD is associated with altered neurophysiologic responses that may be regulated by dopamine.

Pain is a common nonmotor manifestation of Parkinson disease (PD). In addition to having pain that is secondary to motor dysfunction or other musculoskeletal or peripheral causes, patients with PD can present with primary central pain (PCP). However, the mechanisms that contribute to PCP in PD patients are not well understood. In this study, the authors performed clinical and electrophysiologic assessments of pain in control subjects, PD patients without pain, and PD patients with PCP (9 each). They examined responses to painful laser stimuli, which induce both a laser-evoked potential (LEP) and a reflex sudomotor skin response that is mediated by the autonomic nervous system and that habituates with repeated stimuli.

Conduction of pain voll…

Reviewing Author

Albert Hung, MD, PhD