Central Pain Following Cord Severance for Cephalosomatic Anastomosis

Abstract

One of the key obstacles to a successful head transplant is the possible onset of central pain, a chronic pain condition that would impair the quality of life of the transplantee. In this review, we provide the reader with a knowledge of this neglected aspect of the head transplant initiative and outline the management should this eventuality occur.

Keywords: Central pain; Cephalosomatic anastomosis; Head transplant; Neuropathic pain.

Figure 1

Diagram displaying the genesis of the spontaneous component of central pain. Damage to the spinothalamocortical pathway in subjects whose inhibitory systems at cortical levels are dysfunctional sets off a cascade of effects leading to a basin of attraction of neural activity centered in the somatosensory cortical areas which feeds onto the thalamus via a massive feedback from cortex to sensory thalamus. By interrupting this descending input, the generator is interrupted (from ref. 5, with permission).