Vol. 11, Issue 3, Part B (2025)

The current understanding of pain, particularly postoperative pain, integrates both physiological and psychological dimensions, as highlighted by the IASP's widely accepted definition. Despite advances in clinical practices, postoperative pain remains highly variable, influenced by numerous factors including individual pain thresholds, procedural techniques, and preoperative conditions. Recent research in neural oscillations and EEG technologies has provided valuable insight into brain activity related to pain perception. Notably, alpha wave activity, particularly oscillations below 9 Hz, has shown promise as a predictive biomarker for severe postoperative pain. This finding opens avenues for proactive pain management strategies.
EEG, especially in its portable and mobile forms, has become a pivotal non-invasive modality for assessing neural activity in real-world and clinical settings. Through time-frequency analysis and correction techniques like dB conversion, EEG data offer a robust means to study cognitive and sensory processes, including pain perception. The correlation between alpha oscillations and pain sensitivity underscores the brain’s role in shaping pain experiences and highlights the potential of EEG-based tools in predicting and managing postoperative pain. As portable EEG technologies evolve, their integration into clinical workflows could enable personalized pain interventions, reducing the risk of chronic pain development and improving patient outcomes.