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Dissociation between pain and the nociceptive blink reflex during psychological arousal
Chee Wan Koh1, Peter D Drummond
1School of Psychology, Murdoch University, South Street, Murdoch, Perth, WA 6150, Australia.
Objective:
To investigate the effect of psychological arousal on pain ratings and the R2 component of the electrically evoked blink reflex to a 'pure' noiciceptive stimulus.
Methods:
Pain ratings and R2 to a noiciceptive stimulus (pulse width 0.3ms, 2mA, delivered from a concentric electrode attached to the supraorbital region of the forehead) were investigated in 16 healthy participants before and during a serial subtraction task, and in 16 control participants who sat quietly during nociceptive stimulation.
Results:
Pain ratings decreased whereas R2 amplitude increased during the serial subtraction task.
Conclusions:
Supra-spinal rather than spinal mechanisms inhibited pain perception during psychological arousal. Moreover, psychological arousal facilitated the R2 component of the blink reflex to a nociception-specific stimulus.
Significance:
Supra-spinal influences need to be considered during clinical evaluation of the trigeminal nociceptive blink reflex.
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Nociception
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