Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2016. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Anesthesiol. Mar 27, 2016; 5(1): 15-27
Published online Mar 27, 2016. doi: 10.5313/wja.v5.i1.15
Transcranial magnetic stimulation as a new tool to control pain perception
Emanuela Onesti, Maria Cristina Gori, Vittorio Frasca, Maurizio Inghilleri
Emanuela Onesti, Maria Cristina Gori, Vittorio Frasca, Maurizio Inghilleri, Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, University of Rome “Sapienza”, 00185 Rome, Italy
Author contributions: Onesti E and Inghilleri M designed the research; Onesti E and Inghilleri M performed the research; Onesti E, Gori MC, Frasca V and Inghilleri M analyzed the data; Onesti E, Gori MC, Frasca V and Inghilleri M wrote the paper.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Authors declare no conflict of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected byan in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Maurizio Inghilleri, Professor, Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, University of Rome “Sapienza”, Viale dell’Università 30, 00185 Rome, Italy. maurizio.inghilleri@uniroma1.it
Telephone: +39-06-49914120 Fax: +39-06-49914120
Received: June 27, 2015
Peer-review started: June 30, 2015
First decision: September 17, 2015
Revised: November 26, 2015
Accepted: December 13, 2015
Article in press: December 15, 2015
Published online: March 27, 2016
Processing time: 272 Days and 12.9 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: The high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (HF-rTMS) is emerging as a possible approach for pain relief. The HF-rTMS delivered to motor cortex modulates brain network implicated in pain processes, facilitating descending pain inhibitory mechainsms. Current data are promising, but a careful analysis of stimulation settings and maintenance treatment design are necessary.