Neuromodulation Management of Chronic Neuropathic Pain in the Central Nervous System

Neuromodulation is a clinical tool used for treating chronic neuropathic pain by transmitting controlled physical energy to the pre-identified neural targets in the central nervous system. Its drug-free, nonaddictive, and improved targeting characteristics have attracted increasing attention among neuroscience research and clinical practices. This article provides a brief overview of the neuropathic pain and pharmacological routines for treatment, summarizes both the invasive and noninvasive neuromodulation modalities for pain management, and highlights an emerging brain stimulation technology, transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS), with a focus on ultrasound transducer devices and the achieved neuromodulation effects and applications on pain management. Practical considerations of spatial guidance for tFUS are discussed for clinical applications. The safety of transcranial ultrasound neuromodulation and its future prospectives on pain management are also discussed.