Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 5, 2026
09:03
Optimizing Photoneuromodulation Techniques to Evaluate the Role of Green Light-Emitting Diodes in Pain Management
Published on: March 28, 2025
Selective modulation of nociceptive processing due to noise distraction.
Yvonne Boyle1, Wael El-Deredy, Eduardo Martínez Montes
1Human Pain Research Group, University of Manchester Rheumatic Diseases Centre, Clinical Sciences Building, Hope Hospital, Salford M6 8HD, UK School of Psychological Sciences, Zochonis Building, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, UK Cuban Neuroscience Center, Ave 25 #15202, Cubanacan, Playa, 11600 Habana, Cuba.
Pain
|April 22, 2008
Summary
Noise distraction selectively reduces pain unpleasantness by modulating affective pain processing. This affects brain activity in the medial pain system, offering potential therapeutic mechanisms for pain management.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Pain Research
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Laser-evoked potentials (LEPs) are crucial for understanding pain processing.
- Attentional mechanisms can modulate pain perception, but their specific impact on different pain components is not fully understood.
- Noise distraction is a common environmental factor that may influence attentional processes and pain.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how noise distraction affects spatial and affective components of pain.
- To examine the impact of noise on different sources and components of laser-evoked potentials (LEPs).
- To explore the neural correlates of attentional modulation of pain under distraction.
Main Methods:
- Recorded 64-channel electroencephalography (EEG) during CO2 laser stimulation of the forearm in 18 healthy volunteers.
- Subjects performed either a pain localisation (spatial) or unpleasantness rating (affective) task, with and without white noise distraction (85 dBa).
- Utilized Low Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography (LORETA) to identify distributed sources of LEP peaks.
Main Results:
- Noise distraction significantly reduced pain unpleasantness ratings and P2 peak amplitude during the unpleasantness task.
- Pain localisation ability and N1/N2 peak amplitude remained unaffected by noise distraction.
- Noise altered brain activity: reduced anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and precuneus activation during localisation and unpleasantness tasks, respectively; enhanced occipital pole and SII activation during localisation and unpleasantness tasks, respectively.
Conclusions:
- Noise distraction selectively modulates the affective component of pain processing, impacting unpleasantness ratings and associated neural activity (P2, medial pain system).
- Different brain regions (ACC, precuneus, occipital pole, SII) show distinct responses to noise distraction depending on the attentional focus (spatial vs. affective pain).
- Top-down processes can differentially modulate pain affect, suggesting potential therapeutic avenues for pain management through attention manipulation.
Related Concept Videos
01:44Nociception
Nociception—the ability to feel pain—is essential for an organism’s survival and overall well-being. Noxious stimuli such as piercing pain from a sharp object, heat from an open flame, or contact with corrosive chemicals are first detected by sensory receptors, called nociceptors, located on nerve endings. Nociceptors express ion channels that convert noxious stimuli into electrical signals. When these signals reach the brain via sensory neurons, they are perceived as pain. Thus, pain helps the...
01:25Analgesia and Pain Management
Pain is critical to various clinical pathologies, provoking an urgent need for effective management. Pain, whether acute or chronic, is a complex neurochemical process. Its alleviation depends on the type, with nonopioid analgesics effective for mild to moderate pain, such as musculoskeletal or inflammatory pain, while neuropathic pain responds best to anticonvulsants, tricyclic antidepressants, or serotonin/norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors. For severe acute or chronic pain, opioids may be...
01:20Pain
Pain serves as a critical warning signal that alerts the body to potential or actual harm. When mechanical pressure on the skin is intense, such as from a sharp pinch, the sensation transitions from touch to pain. Similarly, extreme temperatures, like a hot pot handle, convert the sensation of heat into pain. Pain can also result from overstimulation of other senses, such as blinding light, loud noise, or the intense heat from habañero peppers. This ability to sense pain is essential for...