EVALUATION COMMITTEE

The Faculty Council has appointed the following adjudication committee to evaluate the thesis and the associated lecture: 

• Josep Valls-Sole, Professor Emeritus, Institut d’Investigació Biomèdica August Pi I Sunyer, Spain
• Professor Hartwig Roman Siebner, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
• Professor Asbjørn M. Drewes, Aalborg University, Denmark (Chairman)

Moderator: Vice Dean for Research, Ole Kæseler Andersen, Aalborg University, Denmark

ABSTRACT

Chronic pain is the most prevalent and impactful health condition worldwide. It significantly affects individuals' quality of life and functional abilities and consumes more economic resources than all cardiovascular diseases combined. Recently, there has been growing interest in non-pharmacological strategies for managing chronic pain, such as neuromodulation. Neuromodulation is typically defined as the use of physical modalities (electric, electromagnetic, hypersonic) on nervous tissue to alter neuronal excitability and function. It includes both non-invasive techniques, like transcranial magnetic stimulation, and invasive ones, such as spinal cord and deep brain stimulation.

Neuromodulation-based interventions have been extensively used in managing major depression, Parkinson's disease, and epilepsy. Over the past 25 years, the application of these techniques in pain management has advanced rapidly, alongside progress in understanding the analgesic mechanisms they offer.

This thesis presents a series of studies aimed at addressing knowledge gaps in using neuromodulatory techniques for pain relief. The publications involved patients both with and without evident structural changes and deficits in the somatosensory system, such as those with neuropathic pain and Parkinson’s disease, respectively. It also explored the mechanisms of action of both invasive and non-invasive neuromodulation methods.

The findings provide a broader understanding of how these approaches affect nociceptive and non-nociceptive processes, serving as a groundwork for developing more effective and personalized treatments to alleviate chronic pain.