Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Temporal and intensity coding of pain in human cortex

C A Porro1, V Cettolo, M P Francescato

  • 1Dipartimento Scienze e Tecnologie Biomediche, Università di Udine, I-33100 Udine.

Journal of Neurophysiology
|December 24, 1998
PubMed
Summary

This study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to map brain activity related to pain intensity. Findings reveal distributed cortical systems involved in the dynamic encoding of pain over time.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Assessment of breath-by-breath alveolar gas exchange: an alternative view of the respiratory cycle.

European journal of applied physiology·2015
Same author

Assembling more O₂ uptake responses: is it possible to merely stack the repeated transitions?

Respiratory physiology & neurobiology·2014
Same author

Confidence intervals for the parameters estimated from simulated O2 uptake kinetics: effects of different data treatments.

Experimental physiology·2013
Same author

The current state-of-the-art of spinal cord imaging: applications.

NeuroImage·2013
Same author

The current state-of-the-art of spinal cord imaging: methods.

NeuroImage·2013
Same author

Oxygen uptake kinetics at work onset: role of cardiac output and of phosphocreatine breakdown.

Respiratory physiology & neurobiology·2012

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Pain Research
  • Functional Neuroimaging

Background:

  • Understanding the neural basis of pain perception is crucial for developing effective pain management strategies.
  • The human cortex plays a significant role in processing sensory information, including pain.
  • Previous research has implicated various cortical regions in pain, but the dynamic encoding of pain intensity over time requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify cortical areas involved in the temporal and intensity coding of experimental somatic pain using high-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
  • To investigate whether observed neural responses are specific to pain intensity and duration or due to non-specific arousal.
  • To map the distributed cortical systems engaged in the dynamic processing of pain intensity over time.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Methods:

  • Employed high-resolution fMRI in healthy volunteers undergoing experimental somatic pain induced by subcutaneous ascorbic acid injection.
  • Acquired fMRI data continuously to correlate neural activity with the time profile of perceived pain intensity.
  • Used cross-correlation statistics to identify neural clusters correlated with pain intensity, comparing results with saline and control stimulation groups to ensure specificity.

Main Results:

  • Identified significant positive and negative correlations between fMRI signal time courses and individual pain intensity curves in cortical areas, including the primary somatosensory cortex (SI), cingulate, motor, and premotor cortex.
  • The spatial extent of activated neural clusters was linearly related to peak pain intensity.
  • Observed neural responses were significantly larger in the pain group compared to saline and control groups, indicating specificity to pain intensity and duration.

Conclusions:

  • Demonstrated that distributed cortical systems, encompassing parietal, cingulate, and frontal regions, are involved in the dynamic encoding of pain intensity over time.
  • These findings highlight the complexity of pain processing in the human brain and its dynamic nature.
  • The study provides valuable insights into the neural mechanisms underlying pain perception, relevant for both biological understanding and clinical applications.