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Conditioned pain modulation is not associated with thermal pain illusion
Yuka Oono1, Hidenori Kubo1, Saori Takagi1
1Department of Diagnostic and Therapeutic Sciences, Division of Dental Anesthesiology, Meikai University School of Dentistry, Sakado, Japan.
Scandinavian Journal of Pain
|May 24, 2022
Summary
Conditioned pain modulation can be induced by alternating painful cold-heat pulses. The presence of thermal pain illusions did not affect the degree of conditioned pain modulation, suggesting distinct neural pathways.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Pain Research
- Sensory Perception
Background:
- Paradoxical sensations, or thermal pain illusions, can be triggered by painful cold-heat pulse stimulation.
- These illusions may hold diagnostic potential in pain assessment.
- The interaction between conditioned pain modulation and thermal pain illusions remains unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if alternating tonic painful cold-heat pulse stimulation can induce conditioned pain modulation.
- To determine if thermal pain illusions influence the extent of conditioned pain modulation.
Main Methods:
- Alternating painful cold-heat pulses were applied to the forearm to induce conditioned pain modulation.
- Thermal pain illusions were qualitatively assessed.
- Conditioned pain modulation was quantitatively measured using the pressure pain threshold.
- Student's t-test was used to compare groups with and without thermal pain illusions.
Main Results:
- A significant conditioned pain modulation effect of 51.0 ± 4.7% was observed overall.
- No significant difference in conditioned pain modulation was found between participants with (44.3 ± 6.0%) and without (55.5 ± 6.8%) thermal pain illusions (p = 0.255).
Conclusions:
- Alternating painful cold-heat pulse stimulation effectively induces conditioned pain modulation.
- Conditioned pain modulation is not influenced by the presence of thermal pain illusions.
- This suggests that distinct supraspinal neuronal networks underlie these phenomena.
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