Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 31, 2026
08:23
Chronic Constriction of the Sciatic Nerve and Pain Hypersensitivity Testing in Rats
Published on: March 13, 2012
61.0K
Effects of insular stimulation on thermal nociception
D J Denis1, R Marouf2,3, P Rainville2,3,4,5,6
1Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (Hôpital Notre-Dame), Canada.
European Journal of Pain (London, England)
|October 17, 2015
Summary
High frequency insular stimulation may reduce thermal pain perception. This suggests the postero-superior insula is crucial for processing heat and cold pain, but not pressure pain.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Pain Research
- Neurosurgery
Background:
- Electrical stimulation of the postero-superior insula can induce pain.
- The impact of prolonged high-frequency insular stimulation on pain thresholds remains uninvestigated.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if prolonged high-frequency insular stimulation can decrease thermal nociception.
- To explore the role of the insula in pain processing.
Main Methods:
- Epileptic patients with implanted insular cortex electrodes underwent bilateral thermal and pressure nociceptive threshold testing.
- A randomized, double-blind, high-frequency (150 Hz) insular stimulation was applied for 10 minutes before testing.
Main Results:
- High-frequency insular stimulation significantly increased heat pain thresholds bilaterally.
- Cold and pressure pain thresholds showed no significant changes after stimulation.
- Subjects undergoing postero-superior operculo-insulectomy experienced central pain and contralateral thermal deficits.
Conclusions:
- High-frequency inhibitory stimulation of the postero-superior insula shows potential for reducing thermal nociception.
- The integrity of the postero-superior insula is essential for thermal, but not pressure, nociceptive processing.
Related Concept Videos
01:43Thermosensation
35.5K
Peripheral thermosensation is the perception of external temperature. A change in temperature (on the surface of the skin and other tissues) is detected by a family of temperature-sensitive ion channels called Transient Receptor Potential, or TRP, receptors. These receptors are located on free nerve endings. Those detecting cold temperatures are closer to the surface of the skin than the nerve endings detecting warmth. These thermoTRP channels, while temperature selective, have relatively...
35.5K
01:44Nociception
34.7K
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.
34.7K
01:24Local Anesthetics: Differential Sensitivity of Nerve Fibers
1.7K
Local anesthetics (LAs) block the sodium channels of nerve trunks, sensory nerve endings, and neuromuscular junctions. Although LAs can block all kinds of nerves, the sensitivity of nerve fibers differs according to nerve types and structures. LAs are known to block myelinated fibers faster than unmyelinated ones. Also, they block pain or sensory neurons at low concentrations without affecting the motor neurons involved in muscle contractions. This helps relieve labor pain without affecting the...
1.7K
01:33Somatosensation
45.6K
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.
45.6K