Mechanism of Action of Peripheral Nerve Stimulation

• Published in: Current pain and headache reports Vol. 25; no. 7; p. 47
• Main Authors: Strand, Natalie H., D’Souza, Ryan, Wie, Christopher, Covington, Stephen, Maita, Moustafa, Freeman, John, Maloney, Jillian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.07.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Anesthesiology; Bone cancer; Boolean; Clinical outcomes; Control theory; Headaches; Internal Medicine; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Narcotics; Nervous system; Neuromodulation (AA Abd-Elsayed; Pain; Pain Medicine; Section Editor; Spinal cord; Topical Collection on Neuromodulation; Neuromodulation; Chronic pain; Peripheral nerve stimulation
• ISSN: 1531-3433; 1534-3081; 1534-3081
• DOI: 10.1007/s11916-021-00962-3

Purpose of Review The number of applications for peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) in the pain management field is ever-growing. With the increasing number of clinical applications for peripheral nerve stimulation, the purpose of this article is to review the mechanism of action surrounding PNS, the recent literature from January 2018 to January 2021, and pertinent clinical outcomes. Recent Findings The authors searched articles identified from PubMed (January 2018–January 2021), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases (January 2018–January 2021), and Scopus (January 2018–January 2021) databases, and manually searched references of identified publications. Broad MeSH terms and Boolean operators were queried in each search, including the following terms and their respective synonyms: peripheral nerve stimulation, mechanism of action, biochemical pathway, and pain pathway. 15 consensus articles were selected for in-depth review and inclusion for qualitative analysis. Summary PNS may activate and modulate higher central nervous system (CNS) centers, including the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex, somatosensory cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and parahippocampal areas. Neuromodulatory effects from PNS may also extend into the spinal columns. Also, PNS may lead to changes in endogenous neurotransmitters and affect the plasticity of NMDA pathways.