Changes in cortical oscillations linked to multisensory modulation of nociception
Flavia Mancini1, Matthew R Longo, Elisa Canzoneri
1Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK. f.mancini@ucl.ac.uk
The European Journal of Neuroscience
|December 11, 2012
Summary
Viewing your own body visually reduces pain perception. This study found that seeing your hand during painful heat stimulation altered brain activity, specifically increasing beta oscillations, suggesting inhibited pain processing.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Pain Perception
- Sensory Integration
Background:
- Contextual factors significantly modulate pain perception.
- Visual stimuli, such as viewing one's own body, can influence nociceptive processing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate electroencephalographic (EEG) oscillatory activity changes during visual modulation of nociception.
- To compare cortical oscillations when viewing one's own hand versus a neutral object during innocuous and noxious heat stimuli.
Main Methods:
- Participants underwent innocuous and noxious contact heat stimulation.
- Electroencephalographic (EEG) data were recorded while participants viewed either their own hand or a neutral object.
- Time-frequency analysis was performed on EEG data to examine oscillatory activity.
Main Results:
- Viewing one's own hand reduced perceived intensity of noxious heat, but not innocuous heat.
- Noxious stimulation, compared to warm stimulation, was associated with reduced beta (15-25 Hz) power in EEG.
- Viewing the body increased noxious stimulation-induced beta oscillatory activity bilaterally, suggesting inhibition of cortical nociceptive processing.
Conclusions:
- Visual-nociceptive interactions involve dynamic changes in sensorimotor EEG rhythms.
- The visual context, specifically viewing one's own body, can inhibit cortical processing of noxious stimuli.
- These findings highlight the brain's complex integration of sensory and contextual information in pain modulation.
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...
01:33Somatosensation
The somatosensory system relays sensory information from the skin, mucous membranes, limbs, and joints. Somatosensation is more familiarly known as the sense of touch. A typical somatosensory pathway includes three types of long neurons: primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary neurons have cell bodies located near the spinal cord in groups of neurons called dorsal root ganglia. The sensory neurons of ganglia innervate designated areas of skin called dermatomes.
01:28Major Somatic Sensory Pathways
Sensory impulses related to touch, pressure, vibration, and proprioception from various body parts, such as the limbs, trunk, neck, and posterior head, travel to the cerebral cortex through the posterior column-medial lemniscus pathway. The pathway’s name derives from the two white-matter tracts that convey the impulses: the spinal cord's posterior column and the brainstem's medial lemniscus. First-order sensory neurons extend their axons into the spinal cord, forming the posterior columns...
01:29Overview of Somatic Sensory Pathways
Somatic sensory or somatosensory pathways refer to the neural pathways that carry information related to touch, pressure, pain, temperature, and proprioception from the skin, muscles, tendons, and joints to the brain. These pathways involve several stages of processing and integration of sensory information.
The somatosensory system is divided into three main pathways: the dorsal (or posterior) column-medial lemniscus, spinothalamic (or anterolateral), and spinocerebellar pathways.
The dorsal...
The somatosensory system is divided into three main pathways: the dorsal (or posterior) column-medial lemniscus, spinothalamic (or anterolateral), and spinocerebellar pathways.
The dorsal...
01:23Somatosensory, Motor, and Association Cortex
The somatosensory cortex in the parietal lobes is crucial for interpreting sensory data such as touch, temperature, and proprioception. The somatosensory cortex, situated in the parietal lobes, plays a vital role in interpreting sensory information like touch, temperature, and proprioception—awareness of body position. This specialized brain region features an organized structure wherein neurons at the top primarily process sensations originating from the lower body. In contrast, those at the...
01:11Sensory Perception: Organization of the Somatosensory System
The somatosensory system is the central and peripheral nervous system component that senses and processes touch, pressure, pain, temperature, and body position or proprioception. The process of sensation takes place at three levels:
The receptor level:
The receptor level is the first stage of sensation. It involves the detection of a stimulus by specialized sensory receptors. The stimulus must arrive within the receptor's receptive field. Next, the receptor converts the energy of the stimulus...
The receptor level:
The receptor level is the first stage of sensation. It involves the detection of a stimulus by specialized sensory receptors. The stimulus must arrive within the receptor's receptive field. Next, the receptor converts the energy of the stimulus...