Areas covered: Literature examining clinical and basic research findings with the application of Burst stimulation to pathologically active central neural tissue was found using bibliographic databases including PubMed, Medline, Cochrane, Embase and Google Scholar. When Burst stimulation is applied to the spinal cord, the impulses travel to the thalamus and then diverge, targeting both the somatosensory cortex and the limbic system where they treat both the sensory, affective and attentional components of neuropathic pain. Electrically generated burst waveforms were initially designed to treat neural pathology in the auditory cortex and were later applied to the spinal cord through spinal cord stimulation (SCS) devices to treat chronic pain states.
Burst stimulation, as described by DeRidder, is a novel waveform made up of closely spaced, high-frequency electrical impulses delivered in packets, which are followed by a quiescent period or interburst interval.