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Thalamotomy for Human Pain Relief

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Encyclopedia of Pain

Synonyms

First-order subtype: medial thalamotomy; Second-order subtype: central lateral thalamotomy; Stereotactic operation with thalamic target

Definition

Neurophysiological studies at the cellular level (single unit activity and local field potentials or LFPs) as well as electroencephalographic (EEG) and magnetoencephalographic (MEG) recordings provide converging evidence for a thalamocortical dysregulation at the origin of chronic neurogenic pain of both peripheral and central origin. These data suggest an increase of low frequency thalamocortical rhythmicity originating in disfacilitation of thalamic relay neurons, followed by cortical activation due to asymmetries of corticocortical inhibition. The process, called thalamocortical dysrhythmia(TCD), may become self-sustained and thus chronic, due to recurrent thalamoreticulothalamic and corticoreticulothalamic feedback inhibition. The surgical approach presented here is centered on a reestablishment of a normal thalamocortical...

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Correspondence to Daniel Jeanmonod .

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Jeanmonod, D., Sarnthein, J., Stern, J., Magnin, M., Aufenberg, C., Morel, A. (2013). Thalamotomy for Human Pain Relief. In: Gebhart, G.F., Schmidt, R.F. (eds) Encyclopedia of Pain. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-28753-4_4442

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