• Michael J Farrell.
• Florey Neuroscience Institutes, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia. michael.farrell@florey.edu.au
• Pain Med. 2012 Apr 1;13 Suppl 2:S37-43.

ObjectiveThis review summarizes the scientific literature addressing the effects of aging on pain processing in the brain.DesignA literature search was undertaken using PubMed and search terms including pain, aging, and brain.Settings And PatientsStudies including healthy older people and older people with painful disorders were reviewed.MeasuresPublications reporting the outcomes of neuroimaging techniques including positron emission tomography, structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging, and electroencephalography in samples incorporating older people were reviewed.ResultsAge-related decreases in regional brain volume occur in structures implicated in pain processing, and are most pronounced in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, whereas age-related atrophy in brainstem regions involved in pain modulation is less pronounced. Functional brain imaging has revealed decreased pain activation in the putamen and insula among older people during extrinsic stimuli, but any effects of aging on the processing of clinical pain are yet to be reported.ConclusionsThe network of brain regions involved in pain processing are subject to age-related changes in structure, but that the functional implications of these changes are yet to be determined.Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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