Neural Network Improvements Induced by REST Flotation in Chronic Lower Back Pain Patients: An Exploratory Investigation

Thalamocortical dysrhythmia is a shared hallmark of numerous neurodivergent conditions. Restricted environment stimulation therapy (REST) flotation causes desirable neural shifts in anxious or depressed populations towards classically defined healthy spectra. In this exploratory investigation, chronic lower back pain patients were randomly assigned to the experimental condition, six 1-hr REST flotation sessions, or the control condition, six 1-hr nap pod sessions. Participants underwent quantitative electroencephalograms (qEEG) before and after their six sessions. Chronic lower back pain patients were chosen because of the high prevalence of the disease condition and the known network changes that contribute to the transition of pain from acute to chronic. Results showed traditional qEEG pain-associated signatures shift to reflect more regulated, healthy activity across the pain and default mode networks in our experimental condition. Dysregulation in neural oscillations can be indicative of symptomology, and the changes observed in the experimental group reflect healthier activity in all frequency bands, while the control group showed no significant changes in any 1 Hz bin. These significant crossspectral improvements show promise for REST flotation as a supplemental nonpharmacological treatment for chronic pain.