Papers of the Week

Pain-induced gamma-band oscillations (GBOs) are one of the most promising biomarkers of the pain experience. Although GBOs reliably encode pain perception across different individuals and species, considerable heterogeneity could be observed in the characteristics and functions of GBOs. However, such heterogeneity of GBOs and its underlying sources have rarely been detailed previously. Here, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to characterize the temporal, frequential, and spatial characteristics of GBOs and summarize the functional significance of distinct GBOs. We found that GBOs heterogeneity was mainly related to pain types, with a higher frequency (~66Hz) GBOs at the sensorimotor cortex elicited by phasic pain and a lower frequency (~55Hz) GBOs at the prefrontal cortex associated with tonic and chronic pains. Positive correlations between GBO magnitudes and pain intensity were mainly observed in healthy participants. Notably, the characteristics and functions of GBOs seem to be phylogenetically conserved across humans and rodents. Altogether, we provide a comprehensive description of heterogeneous GBOs in pain and nociception, laying the foundation for clinical applications of GBOs.