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Spatial Tuning in Nociceptive Processing Is Driven by Attention.

Waclaw M Adamczyk1, Michal Katra2, Tibor M Szikszay3

  • 1Pediatric Pain Research Center, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio; Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio; Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati School of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio; Laboratory of Pain Research, Institute of Physiotherapy and Health Sciences, The Jerzy Kukuczka Academy of Physical Education, Katowice, Poland.

The Journal of Pain
|March 25, 2023
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Attention dynamically alters pain perception. Focusing attention on specific body parts can abolish spatial summation of pain (SSp), reducing overall pain intensity.

Keywords:
Spatial summationTroxler fadingattentional modulationcold pressorpainreceptive fieldspatial tuning

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Pain Research
  • Cognitive Psychology

Background:

  • Pain intensity increases with the spatial spread of nociception due to spatial summation of pain (SSp).
  • The influence of attention on the spatial tuning of nociceptive processing remains an area for investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how attention affects spatial tuning in cold-induced spatial summation of pain (SSp).
  • To explore the role of divided and directed attention on pain ratings during SSp.

Main Methods:

  • Forty healthy volunteers underwent a cold-induced SSp paradigm involving immersion of radial, ulnar, or both hand segments in cold water (5°C).
  • Participants provided overall pain ratings, and in some trials, divided attention (sequential ratings) or directed attention (single-segment focus) ratings.

Main Results:

  • A significant SSp effect was confirmed, with higher pain ratings for combined hand immersion ('a+b') compared to single-segment immersion ('a' or 'b').
  • SSp was abolished when participants provided divided attention ratings.
  • Pain intensity was significantly reduced when attention was directed to only one hand segment during combined immersion.

Conclusions:

  • Spatial tuning of pain is dynamically modulated by attentional processes.
  • Directed attention is sufficient to focus spatial tuning and abolish the SSp effect.
  • Cognitive factors, particularly attention, play a crucial role in modulating spatial pain perception.