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Dissociation between individual differences in self-reported pain intensity and underlying fMRI brain activation
M E Hoeppli1,2, H Nahman-Averbuch3,4,5, W A Hinkle3
1Pediatric Pain Research Center (PPRC), Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA. marie-eve.hoeppli@cchmc.org.
Nature Communications
|June 22, 2022
Summary
Individual pain perception varies greatly. Brain imaging (fMRI) did not detect differences in brain activation related to interindividual pain sensitivity, suggesting it may not objectively measure pain intensity.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Pain Research
- Psychology
Background:
- Pain perception is highly individual, with prior research linking it to brain activity and structure.
- Understanding the neural basis of between-individual differences in pain is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the brain mechanisms underlying individual differences in pain perception.
- To assess the utility of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in capturing these differences.
Main Methods:
- Recruited 101 healthy adolescent and adult participants.
- Collected subjective pain ratings in response to varying noxious stimulus intensities.
- Utilized Blood Oxygenation Level-Dependent (BOLD) signal imaging (fMRI) to measure brain activation.
Main Results:
- Significant variation in pain ratings across individuals was observed.
- Subjective pain reports accurately reflected individual pain sensitivity.
- No significant brain activation patterns related to interindividual pain differences were detected via fMRI.
- BOLD signal within individuals was sensitive to minor changes in stimulus intensity.
Conclusions:
- Subjective pain reporting remains a valuable measure of individual pain experience.
- fMRI, using the BOLD signal, may not be a reliable objective tool for inferring reported pain intensity between individuals.
- Further research is needed to explore alternative neuroimaging techniques or approaches for objective pain assessment.
