Fibromyalgia and psychoacustic stimulation: an EEG study on pain modulation

Objective: Fibromyalgic Sindrome is characterized by chronic musculoskeletal pain, mood and sleep disorders and weakness. Classical analgesic therapies are often uneff ective, for this reason we aim to study the eff ects of a non-pharmacological treatment: psychoacustic stimulation through binaural beats. Our purpose is to investigate cortical activation in patients and self-reporting pain intensity. Methods: Five participants aff ected by fi bromyalgia partecipated in the study. EEG was recordered while subjects listened to four binaural beats music tracks calibrated on delta, theta, alpha and beta frequency bands. Before and after the stimulation, subjects reported pain intensity perception trough a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and a Numeric Rating Scale (NRS). Results: Results showed a generalized relaxation eff ect mirrored by increasing delta frequency in fronto-central area, and increasing alpha frequency over occipital areas. We observed also a decreasing of beta band power. Delta is even clearer during acoustic stimulations calibrated on this frequency band. Electrophysiological evidences are supported by a decrease of VAS and NRS scores after psychoacustic stimulation. Conclusions: The eff ect of relaxation on pain perception and EEG activity allowed to suppose the eff ectiveness of such methods in treating fi bromyalgic pain. Key message: Binaural beats can represent an alternative non-pharmacological treatment for fi bromyalgia.