Pain is difficult to measure objectively. Especially in newborn children who are not yet communicating. Researchers have found a method to determine whether the baby has a pain through the electrical signal in the brain.
It is not easy for anyone to indicate when you have pain. How hot is the pain? How long does the pain last? They are all normal questions from a doctor, but a newborn can not answer them. As a result, babies are often not adequately treated for pain.
How can you measure pain in someone who can not talk? English researchers now have a method of detecting pain in babies from a few weeks old. An electro encephalogram (EEG) measures brain activity via a number of head-glued electrodes. The electrical signal that the brain enters from a nerve that leads to pain appears to be a good representation of the pain.
Pattern of brainwaves
With an EEG measure, the researchers received the brainwaves of newborn children, a painful prick. There was a clear pattern in the EEG when babies got a painful nipple. In children who had anesthesia, the measured signal was less strong.
This pattern was well distinguished from non-sore incentives, such as a flash of light. In adults, similar methods also work, shown in earlier studies. The pain score they give themselves corresponds to what is measured in the brain after a pain.
New painkillers
At the individual level we can not draw conclusions here. The method is intended to test multiple children for the effects of any new pain medication. This method can be used to investigate the pain of babies, but also to test the effects of analgesics. And that is necessary, because in children, medicines often work differently than in adults.
To test a pain reliever in a baby, look at, for example, facial expression or heart rate as a measure of pain. But for scientific research, these standards are not reliable enough because they are also influenced by other factors. With the unraveled EEG pattern, hopefully new treatments for young baby infections will be available as soon as possible.
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