title: Rapid relief of thalamic pain syndrome induced by vestibular caloric stimulation.
abstract: Central post-stroke pain syndrome develops in a minority of patients following a stroke. The most usual causative lesion involves the lateral thalamus. The classic presentation is of severe, unrelenting pain that involves the entire contralateral half of the body. It is largely refractory to current treatments. We found that in two patients with this condition their pain was substantially improved by vestibular caloric stimulation, whereas placebo procedures had no effect. We proposed that this is because vestibular stimulation activates the posterior insula, which in turn inhibits the generation of pain in the anterior cingulate.
authors.affiliation: Center for Brain and Cognition, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
authors.forename: Vilayanur S
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Ramachandran
authors.forename: Paul D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: McGeoch
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Gerard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Arcilla
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017679:Cryotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D059408:Pain Management; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods; D013786:Thalamic Diseases / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D013997:Time Factors; D014722:Vestibule, Labyrinth / Q000503:physiopathology*