Method and Apparatus for Diagnosing and Assessing Centralized Pain

Methods for central pain diagnosis and assessment, symptom severity prediction, and therapeutic intervention effect determination. The diagnosis and assessment method includes a statistical comparison between a subject\u27s quantitative brain function assessment and either a database of quantitative assessments of brain functions of healthy individuals, or a database of quantitative assessments of brain functions of individuals known to have been suffering from chronic pain as a result of the abnormal brain function condition. Diagnosis and assessment may be accomplished using a neuroimaging device to sense and generate images representing central nervous system function, using a sensory stimulation device to stimulate brain activities associated with central sensitivity, and using a computing device to command the sensory stimulation device and neuroimaging device to test for the presence of central pain