Peripheral neural correlates of magnitude of cutaneous pain and hyperalgesia: simultaneous recordings in humans of sensory judgments of pain and evoked responses in nociceptors with C-fibers

1984 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 325-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. E. Torebjork ◽  
R. H. LaMotte ◽  
C. J. Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Response Function ◽  
Scaling Function ◽  
Normal Skin ◽  
Heat Pain ◽  
Evoked Responses ◽  
Pain Thresholds ◽  
Heat Injury ◽  
Magnitude Scaling ◽  
Intensity Response ◽  
Stimulus Temperature

The peripheral neuronal correlates of heat pain elicited from normal skin and from skin made hyperalgesic following a mild heat injury were studied by simultaneously recording, in humans, evoked responses in C mechanoheat (CMH) nociceptors and the magnitude estimations of pain obtained from the same subjects. Subjects made continuous magnitude ratings of pain elicited by short-duration stimuli of 39-51 degrees C delivered to the hairy skin of the calf or foot before and at varying intervals of time after a heat injury induced by a conditioning stimulus (CS) of 50 degrees C, 100 s or 48 degrees C, 360 s. The stimuli were applied with a thermode pressed against the nociceptor's receptive field. For heat stimulations of normal skin, that is, uninjured skin, pain thresholds in 14 experiments with nine subjects ranged from 41 to 49 degrees C, whereas response thresholds for most of the 14 CMH nociceptors were 41 degrees C (in two cases, 43 degrees C). The latter suggested that spatial summation of input from many nociceptors was necessary at pain threshold. An intensity-response function was obtained for each CMH by relating the total number of nerve impulses evoked per stimulus to stimulus temperature. A corresponding magnitude scaling function for pain was obtained by relating the maximum rating of pain elicited by each stimulus to stimulus temperature. The relation between the subject's scaling function and the intensity-response function of his CMH nociceptor varied somewhat from one experiment to the next, regardless of whether the results were obtained from the same or from different subjects. However, when averages were computed for all 14 tests, there was a near linear relationship between the mean number of impulses elicited in the CMHs and the median ratings of pain, over the range of 45-51 degrees C. It was concluded that the magnitude of heat pain sensation was more closely related to the magnitude of response in a population of CMH nociceptors than in any individual nociceptor. At 0.5 min after the CS, the pain thresholds of most subjects were elevated, and the magnitude ratings of pain elicited by supra-threshold stimuli were lower than pre-CS values (hypoalgesia). Corresponding changes were seen in the increased thresholds and decreased responses (fatigue) of most CMHs. By 5-10 min after the CS, the pain thresholds of most subjects were lower, and their magnitude ratings of suprathreshold stimuli were greater than pre-CS values (hyperalgesia).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Hypnosis increases heat detection and heat pain thresholds in healthy volunteers

2002 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agn[egrave]s Langlade ◽  
Claire Jussiau ◽  
Laurent Lamonerie ◽  
Emmanuel Marret ◽  
Francis Bonnet
Keyword(s):  
Healthy Volunteers ◽  
Heat Pain ◽  
Pain Thresholds

scholarly journals Lack of Analgesia by Oral Standardized Cannabis Extract on Acute Inflammatory Pain and Hyperalgesia in Volunteers

2008 ◽  
Vol 109 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Birgit Kraft ◽  
Nathalie A. Frickey ◽  
Rainer M. Kaufmann ◽  
Marcus Reif ◽  
Richard Frey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Inflammatory Pain ◽  
Animal Studies ◽  
Analgesic Efficacy ◽  
Spontaneous Pain ◽  
Heat Pain ◽  
Secondary Hyperalgesia ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
Pain Thresholds ◽  
Healthy Female ◽  
Cannabis Extract

Background Cannabinoid-induced analgesia was shown in animal studies of acute inflammatory and neuropathic pain. In humans, controlled clinical trials with Delta-tetrahydrocannabinol or other cannabinoids demonstrated analgesic efficacy in chronic pain syndromes, whereas the data in acute pain were less conclusive. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of oral cannabis extract in two different human models of acute inflammatory pain and hyperalgesia. Methods The authors conducted a double-blind, crossover study in 18 healthy female volunteers. Capsules containing Delta-tetrahydrocannabinol-standardized cannabis extract or active placebo were orally administered. A circular sunburn spot was induced at one upper leg. Heat and electrical pain thresholds were determined at the erythema, the area of secondary hyperalgesia, and the contralateral leg. Intradermal capsaicin-evoked pain and areas of flare and secondary hyperalgesia were measured. Primary outcome parameters were heat pain thresholds in the sunburn erythema and the capsaicin-evoked area of secondary hyperalgesia. Secondary measures were electrical pain thresholds, sunburn-induced secondary hyperalgesia, and capsaicin-induced pain. Results Cannabis extract did not affect heat pain thresholds in the sunburn model. Electrical thresholds (250 Hz) were significantly lower compared with baseline and placebo. In the capsaicin model, the area of secondary hyperalgesia, flare, and spontaneous pain were not altered. Conclusion To conclude, no analgesic or antihyperalgesic activity of cannabis extract was found in the experiments. Moreover, the results even point to the development of a hyperalgesic state under cannabinoids. Together with previous data, the current results suggest that cannabinoids are not effective analgesics for the treatment of acute nociceptive pain in humans.

Reduced heat pain thresholds after sad-mood induction are associated with changes in thalamic activity

2009 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 980-987 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerd Wagner ◽  
Mandy Koschke ◽  
Tanja Leuf ◽  
Ralf Schlösser ◽  
Karl-Jürgen Bär
Keyword(s):  
Mood Induction ◽  
Heat Pain ◽  
Pain Thresholds ◽  
Sad Mood

Heat pain thresholds: normative data and repeatability

Pain ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 329-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Yarnitsky ◽  
Elhor Sprecher ◽  
Ruth Zaslansky ◽  
Jeshayachu A. Hemli
Keyword(s):  
Normative Data ◽  
Heat Pain ◽  
Pain Thresholds

Hypnosis increases heat detection and heat pain thresholds in healthy volunteers☆

2002 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
A LANGLADE ◽  
C JUSSIAU ◽  
L LAMONERIE ◽  
E MARRET ◽  
F BONNET
Keyword(s):  
Healthy Volunteers ◽  
Heat Pain ◽  
Pain Thresholds

scholarly journals Central inhibition of pain is augmented in women with self-injurious behavior

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Lalouni ◽  
Jens Fust ◽  
Johan Bjureberg ◽  
Granit Kastrati ◽  
Robin Fondberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Summation ◽  
Pain Modulation ◽  
Pain Tolerance ◽  
Conditioned Pain Modulation ◽  
Heat Pain ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Down Regulation ◽  
Pain Thresholds ◽  
Pressure Pain ◽  
Pressure Pain Thresholds

Individuals who engage in nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) have demonstrated higher pain thresholds and tolerance compared with individuals without NSSI. The objective of the study was to assess which aspects of the pain regulatory system that account for this augmented pain perception. In a cross-sectional design, 81 women, aged 18-35 (mean [SD] age, 23.4 [3.9]), were included (41 with NSSI and 40 healthy controls). A quantitative sensory testing protocol, including heat pain thresholds, heat pain tolerance, pressure pain thresholds, conditioned pain modulation (assessing central down-regulation of pain), and temporal summation (assessing facilitation of pain signals) was used. Thermal pain stimuli were assessed during fMRI scanning and NSSI behaviors and clinical symptoms were self-assessed. NSSI participants demonstrated higher pain thresholds during heat and pressure pain compared to controls. During conditioned pain modulation, NSSI participants showed a more effective central down-regulation of pain for NSSI participants. Temporal summation did not differ between the groups. There were no correlations between pain outcomes and NSSI behaviors or clinical characteristics. The fMRI analyses revealed increased activity in the primary and secondary somatosensory cortex in NSSI participants, compared to healthy controls, which are brain regions implicated in sensory aspects of pain processing. The findings suggest segregated inhibitory mechanisms for pain and emotion in NSSI, as pain insensitivity was linked to enhanced inhibitory control of pain in spite of significant impairments in emotion regulation. This may represent an endophenotype associated with a greater risk for developing self-injurious behavior.

scholarly journals Pain thresholds and suprathreshold pain after sleep restriction in migraine – A blinded crossover study

Cephalalgia ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 033310242110565
Author(s):  
Jan Petter Neverdahl ◽  
Martin Uglem ◽  
Dagfinn Matre ◽  
Johannes Orvin Hansen ◽  
Morten Engstrøm ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crossover Study ◽  
Pain Sensitivity ◽  
Sleep Restriction ◽  
Heat Pain ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Pain Thresholds ◽  
Pressure Pain ◽  
Disturbed Sleep ◽  
Pressure Pain Thresholds ◽  
Lower Pain

Objective There is an unexplained association between disturbed sleep and migraine. In this blinded crossover study, we investigate if experimental sleep restriction has a different effect on pain thresholds and suprathreshold pain in interictal migraineurs and controls. Methods Forearm heat pain thresholds and tolerance thresholds, and trapezius pressure pain thresholds and suprathreshold pain were measured in 39 interictal migraineurs and 31 healthy controls after two consecutive nights of partial sleep restriction and after habitual sleep. Results The effect of sleep restriction was not significantly different between interictal migraineurs and controls in the primary analyses. Pressure pain thresholds tended to be lower (i.e., increased pain sensitivity) after sleep restriction in interictal migraineurs compared to controls with a 48-hour preictal-interictal cut-off (p = 0.061). We found decreased pain thresholds after sleep restriction in two of seven migraine subgroup comparisons: heat pain thresholds decreased in migraineurs with lower pain intensity during attacks (p = 0.005) and pressure pain thresholds decreased in migraineurs with higher severity of photophobia during attacks (p = 0.031). Heat pain thresholds tended to decrease after sleep restriction in sleep-related migraine (p = 0.060). Sleep restriction did not affect suprathreshold pain measurements in either group. Conclusion This study could not provide strong evidence for an increased effect of sleep restriction on pain sensitivity in migraineurs compared to healthy controls. There might be a slightly increased effect of sleep restriction in migraineurs, detectable using large samples or more pronounced in certain migraine subgroups.

scholarly journals When Less Is More: Investigating Factors Influencing the Distraction Effect of Virtual Reality From Pain

2022 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharina Barcatta ◽  
Elisabeth Holl ◽  
Layla Battistutta ◽  
Marian van der Meulen ◽  
Katharina M. Rischer
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Cognitive Load ◽  
Load Condition ◽  
High Load ◽  
Heat Pain ◽  
Distraction Effect ◽  
Pain Thresholds ◽  
High Load Condition ◽  
The Difference

Virtual reality (VR) is a powerful method of redirecting attention away from pain. Yet, little is known about which factors modulate the size of this distraction effect. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of cognitive load and inter-individual differences in the cognitive and affective domain on heat pain thresholds during a VR game. Ninety healthy participants (mean age ± SD: 23.46 ± 3.28; 50% identified as male and 50% as female) played a low and high load version of a VR game while heat pain thresholds and heart rate were recorded. The effects of cognitive load were assessed by computing the difference in pain thresholds between the high and low load condition for each participant. In addition, we computed the difference in heart rate variability (HRV) measures between both conditions to explore whether these would be correlated with the difference in heat pain thresholds. Prior to the VR session, participants completed questionnaires about their emotional distress, pain-related cognitions, and different executive functioning tasks. Contrary to our expectations, not all participants benefitted from a higher load in terms of distraction from pain. Logistic regression analysis revealed that participants who reported more emotional distress were more likely to exhibit higher pain thresholds in the low relative to the high load condition. Accordingly, these participants tended to show marginally higher HRV in the low compared to the high load condition. Our study demonstrates that the potential benefits of an increased cognitive load in VR on pain sensitivity depends on individual differences in affective state.

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