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Published on: May 23, 2011
tDCS modulation of visually induced analgesia
Flavia Mancini1, Nadia Bolognini, Patrick Haggard
1Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK. f.mancini@ucl.ac.uk
Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
|September 29, 2012
Summary
Viewing your body can reduce pain. This study found that stimulating the occipital cortex with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) enhances this visually induced analgesia effect.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Pain Perception
- Visual Processing
Background:
- Multisensory interactions, particularly visual stimuli, can modulate pain perception.
- Viewing one's own body is known to reduce pain intensity, potentially via altered brain connectivity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the causal role of the extrastriate visual cortex in visually induced analgesia.
- To determine if modulating extrastriate visual cortex excitability affects pain reduction from body viewing.
Main Methods:
- Healthy participants received anodal, cathodal, or sham transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the occipital or centro-parietal cortex.
- Pain intensity ratings were collected before and after tDCS while participants viewed their hand or an occluding object.
Main Results:
- Anodal tDCS over the occipital cortex significantly enhanced the analgesic effect of viewing the body.
- This enhancement was specific to the anodal polarity and occipital stimulation site, suggesting a causal role.
Conclusions:
- Visually induced analgesia appears to depend on neural signals originating from the extrastriate visual cortex.
- Targeted stimulation of visual processing areas can modulate pain perception through body visualization.
