PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Andrew J. Furman
AU  - Mariya Prokhorenko
AU  - Michael L. Keaser
AU  - Jing Zhang
AU  - Ali Mazaheri
AU  - David A. Seminowicz
TI  - Sensorimotor peak alpha frequency is a reliable biomarker of pain sensitivity
AID  - 10.1101/613299
DP  - 2019 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 613299
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2019/04/18/613299.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2019/04/18/613299.full
AB  - We have previously observed that the speed of pain-free, sensorimotor peak alpha frequency (PAF) can predict a healthy individual’s sensitivity to prolonged pain. Here we test the reliability and specificity of pain-free, sensorimotor PAF’s relationship to prolonged pain sensitivity. We collected PAF at two visits (n = 61 and 46 for visits 1 and 2, respectively), separated on average by eight weeks, where participants completed a series of thermal tests. Included were two tests of prolonged pain, Phasic Heat Pain and Capsaicin Heat Pain, and two acute tests, warmth and heat detection thresholds. We demonstrate that PAF predicts sensitivity to both prolonged pain tests but not to either acute test. Furthermore, we show that this prediction occurs at both short (minute) and long (week) timescales. These results s that pain-free, sensorimotor PAF is a reliable biomarker of prolonged pain sensitivity with potential for prospectively identifying pain sensitivity in the clinic.