Detection of Cortical Oscillations Induced by SCS Using Power Spectral Density

Abstract

Chronic, intractable pain of lower back and lower extremity might develop as the result of unsuccessful surgery of back. This state called failed-back surgery syndrome (FBSS) cannot be effectively treated by pharmacotherapy. Electric stimulation of the dorsal spinal cord is applied to relieve the pain. According to the medical hypothesis, oscillatory activity, which might be related to the analgesic effects, may occur in the cortex during the stimulation. To confirm the presence of the SCS induced oscillations, a new method of detection was designed for this purpose. The analysis of EEG data was performed using power spectral density, confidence intervals, visualization and group statistic for its verification. Parameters of the method were experimentally optimized to maximize its reliability. During ongoing SCS, statistically significant changes were detected and localized at the stimulation frequency and/or its subharmonic or upper harmonic over central midline electrodes in eight patients.