REVIEW article
Front. Neurosci.
Sec. Translational Neuroscience
Volume 19 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnins.2025.1656588
This article is part of the Research TopicThe Role of Neural Oscillations in translational Pain researchView all 3 articles
Decoding Pain's Neural Rhythm: Gamma Oscillation Mechanisms, Therapeutic Modulation, and Translational Challenges in Pain Management
Provisionally accepted
- 1Hubei Provincial Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Wuhan, China
- 2Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, China
- 3Yichang Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Yichang, China
- 4Longhua Hospital Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
- 5The Second Affiliated Hospital of Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shenyang, China
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Gamma oscillations (30-100 Hz), as a rhythmic neuronal activity within the central nervous system, play a pivotal role in the initiation, progression, and therapeutic management of pain. By synthesizing relevant experimental and clinical evidence, this review examines pain-induced alterations in gamma oscillations across cortical regions and surveys recent gamma oscillation-based therapeutic interventions for pain management. Gamma oscillations in key cortical areas—including the somatosensory cortices, prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, and insula—are significantly modulated by pain. Therapeutic approaches encompass pharmacological agents (e.g., morphine, ketamine) and non-pharmacological modalities (e.g., electroacupuncture, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation). Emerging therapies such as virtual reality and music-based analgesia offer novel mechanistic insights. However, current research faces limitations, including prevalent insufficient sample sizes. Future research should leverage AI to conduct real-world studies, establish electroencephalogram databases, and investigate the role of gamma oscillations in disease pathology. This will advance precision pain management and optimize therapeutic outcomes for patients.
Keywords: Pain, gamma oscillations, neural oscillation, Cerebral Cortex, Therapeutic modulation
Received: 30 Jun 2025; Accepted: 21 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Xiao, Xiao, Zhang, Zhang, Fang and Tao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Chengpeng Zhang, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, China
Bangjiang Fang, Longhua Hospital Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
Hongwu ， Tao, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shenyang, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.