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Neural circuitry underlying pain modulation: expectation, hypnosis, placebo
Alexander Ploghaus1, Lino Becerra, Cristina Borras
1Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Martinos NMR Center, 149 Thirteenth Street, 02129, Charlestown, MA, USA
Trends in Cognitive Sciences
|May 22, 2003
Summary
Predicting aversive events, whether certain or uncertain, influences behavior and emotions. Different brain pathways process these distinct expectations, impacting pain and anxiety disorders.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychology
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Predicting aversive events is a crucial adaptive function.
- Expectation of pain, whether certain or uncertain, significantly alters behavior, emotions, and attention.
- Previous research suggests distinct neural mechanisms underlie certain versus uncertain expectations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the neural pathways differentiating certain and uncertain expectations of aversive events.
- To understand the role of expectation in modulating pain perception and related disorders.
Main Methods:
- Functional neuroimaging studies were reviewed.
- Neural correlates of certain and uncertain pain expectation were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Certain expectation of pain is associated with activity in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex and posterior cerebellum.
- Uncertain expectation of pain involves activation changes in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, mid-cingulate cortex, and hippocampus.
Conclusions:
- Distinct neural pathways mediate certain and uncertain pain expectations.
- Understanding these pathways is vital for addressing pain modulation and disorders like specific phobias and generalized anxiety disorder.