Brain Responses to Hypnotic Verbal Suggestions Predict Pain Modulation

Background: The effectiveness of hypnosis in reducing pain is well supported by the scientific literature. Hypnosis typically involves verbal suggestions but the mechanisms by which verbal contents are transformed into predictive signals to modulate perceptual processes remain unclear. We hypothesized that brain activity during verbal suggestions would predict the modulation of responses to acute nociceptive stimuli.Methods: Brain activity was measured using BOLD-fMRI in healthy participants while they listened to verbal suggestions of HYPERALGESIA, HYPOALGESIA, or NORMAL sensation (control) following a standardized hypnosis induction. Immediately after the suggestions, series of noxious electrical stimuli were administered to assess pain-related responses. Brain responses measured during the suggestions were then used to predict changes in pain-related responses using delayed regression analyses.Results: Listening to suggestions of HYPERALGESIA and HYPOALGESIA produced BOLD decreases (vs. control) in the parietal operculum (PO) and in the anterior midcingulate cortex (aMCC), and increases in the left parahippocampal gyrus (lPHG). Changes in activity in PO, aMCC and PHG during the suggestions predicted larger pain-evoked responses following the HYPERALGESIA suggestions in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the anterior insula (aINS), and smaller pain-evoked responses following the HYPOALGESIA suggestions in the ACC, aMCC, posterior insula (pINS) and thalamus. These changes in pain-evoked brain responses are consistent with the changes in pain perception reported by the participants in HYPERALGESIA and HYPOALGESIA, respectively.Conclusions: The fronto-parietal network (supracallosal ACC and PO) has been associated with self-regulation and perceived self-agency. Deactivation of these regions during suggestions is predictive of the modulation of brain responses to noxious stimuli in areas previously associated with pain perception and pain modulation. The response of the hippocampal complex may reflect its role in contextual learning, memory and pain anticipation/expectations induced by verbal suggestions of pain modulation. This study provides a basis to further explore the transformation of verbal suggestions into perceptual modulatory processes fundamental to hypnosis neurophenomenology. These findings are discussed in relation to predictive coding models.

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Cerebral Activity Changes in Different Traditional Chinese Medicine Patterns of Psychogenic Erectile Dysfunction Patients

Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine ◽

10.1155/2015/503536 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 2015 ◽

pp. 1-9 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Qi Liu ◽

Peihai Zhang ◽

Junjie Pan ◽

Zhengjie Li ◽

Jixin Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Erectile Dysfunction ◽

Chinese Medicine ◽

Traditional Chinese Medicine ◽

Brain Activity ◽

Cingulate Cortex ◽

Posterior Cingulate Cortex ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Parahippocampal Gyrus ◽

Cerebral Activity ◽

The Right

Background.Pattern differentiation is the foundation of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatment for erectile dysfunction (ED). This study aims to investigate the differences in cerebral activity in ED patients with different TCM patterns.Methods.27 psychogenic ED patients and 27 healthy subjects (HS) were enrolled in this study. Each participant underwent an fMRI scan in resting state. The fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) was used to detect the brain activity changes in ED patients with different patterns.Results.Compared to HS, ED patients showed an increased cerebral activity in bilateral cerebellum, insula, globus pallidus, parahippocampal gyrus, orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), and middle cingulate cortex (MCC). Compared to the patients with liver-qi stagnation and spleen deficiency pattern (LSSDP), the patients with kidney-yang deficiency pattern (KDP) showed an increased activity in bilateral brainstem, cerebellum, hippocampus, and the right insula, thalamus, MCC, and a decreased activity in bilateral putamen, medial frontal gyrus, temporal pole, and the right caudate nucleus, OFC, anterior cingulate cortex, and posterior cingulate cortex (P<0.005).Conclusions.The ED patients with different TCM patterns showed different brain activities. The differences in cerebral activity between LSSDP and KDP were mainly in the emotion-related regions, including prefrontal cortex and cingulated cortex.

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Manganese-enhanced MRI depicts a reduction in brain responses to nociception upon mTOR inhibition in chronic pain rats

Molecular Brain ◽

10.1186/s13041-020-00687-1 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Myeounghoon Cha ◽

Songyeon Choi ◽

Kyeongmin Kim ◽

Bae Hwan Lee

Keyword(s):

Chronic Pain ◽

Nerve Injury ◽

Pain Perception ◽

Imaging Techniques ◽

Insular Cortex ◽

Pain Modulation ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Related Area ◽

Mtor Inhibition ◽

The Brain

AbstractNeuropathic pain induced by a nerve injury can lead to chronic pain. Recent studies have reported hyperactive neural activities in the nociceptive-related area of the brain as a result of chronic pain. Although cerebral activities associated with hyperalgesia and allodynia in chronic pain models are difficult to represent with functional imaging techniques, advances in manganese (Mn)-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MEMRI) could facilitate the visualization of the activation of pain-specific neural responses in the cerebral cortex. In order to investigate the alleviation of pain nociception by mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) modulation, we observed cerebrocortical excitability changes and compared regional Mn2+ enhancement after mTOR inhibition. At day 7 after nerve injury, drugs were applied into the intracortical area, and drug (Vehicle, Torin1, and XL388) effects were compared within groups using MEMRI. Therein, signal intensities of the insular cortex (IC), primary somatosensory cortex of the hind limb region, motor cortex 1/2, and anterior cingulate cortex regions were significantly reduced after application of mTOR inhibitors (Torin1 and XL388). Furthermore, rostral-caudal analysis of the IC indicated that the rostral region of the IC was more strongly associated with pain perception than the caudal region. Our data suggest that MEMRI can depict pain-related signal changes in the brain and that mTOR inhibition is closely correlated with pain modulation in chronic pain rats.

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Retrieval Search and Strength Evoke Dissociable Brain Activity during Episodic Memory Recall

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/jocn_a_00335 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 25 (2) ◽

pp. 219-233 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Emilie T. Reas ◽

James B. Brewer

Keyword(s):

Episodic Memory ◽

Brain Activity ◽

Memory Search ◽

Cued Recall ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Control Mechanisms ◽

Memory Strength ◽

Medial Temporal Lobes ◽

Brain Responses ◽

Highly Correlated

Neuroimaging studies of episodic memory retrieval have revealed activations in the human frontal, parietal, and medial-temporal lobes that are associated with memory strength. However, it remains unclear whether these brain responses are veritable signals of memory strength or are instead regulated by concomitant subcomponents of retrieval such as retrieval effort or mental search. This study used event-related fMRI during cued recall of previously memorized word-pair associates to dissociate brain responses modulated by memory search from those modulated by the strength of a recalled memory. Search-related deactivations, dissociated from activity due to memory strength, were observed in regions of the default network, whereas distinctly strength-dependent activations were present in superior and inferior parietal and dorsolateral PFC. Both search and strength regulated activity in dorsal anterior cingulate and anterior insula. These findings suggest that, although highly correlated and partially subserved by overlapping cognitive control mechanisms, search and memory strength engage dissociable regions of frontoparietal attention and default networks.

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Slow fluctuations in ongoing brain activity decrease in amplitude with ageing yet their impact on task-related evoked responses is dissociable from behaviour

10.1101/2021.11.18.467545 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Maria J. Ribeiro ◽

Miguel Castelo-Branco

Keyword(s):

Reaction Time ◽

Brain Activity ◽

Time Variability ◽

Evoked Responses ◽

Older Individuals ◽

Neural Responses ◽

Reaction Time Variability ◽

Brain Responses ◽

Electroencephalogram Eeg ◽

Signal Variability

In humans, ageing is characterized by decreased brain signal variability and increased behavioural variability. To understand how reduced brain variability segregates with increased behavioural variability, we investigated the association between reaction time variability, evoked brain responses and ongoing brain signal dynamics, in young (N = 36) and older adults (N = 39). We studied the electroencephalogram (EEG) and pupil size fluctuations to characterize the cortical and arousal responses elicited by a cued go/no-go task. Evoked responses were strongly modulated by slow (< 2 Hz) fluctuations of the ongoing signals, which presented reduced power in the older participants. Although variability of the evoked responses was lower in the older participants, once we adjusted for the effect of the ongoing signal fluctuations, evoked responses were equally variable in both groups. Moreover, the modulation of the evoked responses caused by the ongoing signal fluctuations had no impact on reaction time, thereby explaining why although ongoing brain signal variability is decreased in older individuals, behavioural variability is not. Finally, we showed that adjusting for the effect of the ongoing signal was critical to unmask the link between neural responses and behaviour.

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Parent–child intervention decreases stress and increases maternal brain activity and connectivity during own baby-cry: An exploratory study

Development and Psychopathology ◽

10.1017/s0954579417000165 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 29 (2) ◽

pp. 535-553 ◽

Cited By ~ 39

Author(s):

James E. Swain ◽

S. Shaun Ho ◽

Katherine L. Rosenblum ◽

Diana Morelen ◽

Carolyn J. Dayton ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Functional Connectivity ◽

Parenting Stress ◽

Brain Activity ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Therapeutic Interventions ◽

Self Awareness ◽

Brain Scans ◽

Brain Responses ◽

Maternal Brain ◽

Maternal Responses

AbstractParental responses to their children are crucially influenced by stress. However, brain-based mechanistic understanding of the adverse effects of parenting stress and benefits of therapeutic interventions is lacking. We studied maternal brain responses to salient child signals as a function of Mom Power (MP), an attachment-based parenting intervention established to decrease maternal distress. Twenty-nine mothers underwent two functional magnetic resonance imaging brain scans during a baby-cry task designed to solicit maternal responses to child's or self's distress signals. Between scans, mothers were pseudorandomly assigned to either MP (n = 14) or control (n = 15) with groups balanced for depression. Compared to control, MP decreased parenting stress and increased child-focused responses in social brain areas highlighted by the precuneus and its functional connectivity with subgenual anterior cingulate cortex, which are key components of reflective self-awareness and decision-making neurocircuitry. Furthermore, over 13 weeks, reduction in parenting stress was related to increasing child- versus self-focused baby-cry responses in amygdala–temporal pole functional connectivity, which may mediate maternal ability to take her child's perspective. Although replication in larger samples is needed, the results of this first parental-brain intervention study demonstrate robust stress-related brain circuits for maternal care that can be modulated by psychotherapy.

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Instructions and experiential learning have similar impacts on pain and pain-related brain responses but produce dissociations in value-based reversal learning

10.1101/2021.08.25.457682 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Lauren Y Atlas ◽

Troy C Dildine ◽

Esther E Palacios-Barrios ◽

Qingbao Yu ◽

Richard C Reynolds ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Reversal Learning ◽

Pain Perception ◽

Neural Correlates ◽

Expected Value ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Imaging Data ◽

Multiple Points ◽

Subjective Responses ◽

Brain Responses ◽

Subjective Pain

Recent data suggest that interactions between systems involved in higher order knowledge and associative learning drive responses during appetitive and aversive learning. However, it is unknown how these systems impact subjective responses, such as pain. We tested how instructions and reversal learning influence pain and pain-evoked brain activation. Healthy volunteers (n = 40) were either instructed about contingencies between cues and aversive outcomes or learned through experience in a paradigm where contingencies reversed three times. We measured predictive cue effects on pain and heat-evoked brain responses using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Predictive cues dynamically modulated pain perception as contingencies changed, regardless of whether participants received contingency instructions. Heat-evoked responses in the insula, anterior cingulate, and putamen updated as contingencies changed, whereas the periaqueductal gray and thalamus responded to initial contingencies throughout the task. Quantitative modeling revealed that expected value was shaped purely by instructions in the Instructed Group, whereas expected value updated dynamically in the Uninstructed Group as a function of error-based learning. These differences were accompanied by dissociations in the neural correlates of value-based learning in the rostral anterior cingulate, medial prefrontal cortex, and orbitofrontal cortex. These results show how predictions impact subjective pain. Moreover, imaging data delineate three types of networks involved in pain generation and value-based learning: those that respond to initial contingencies, those that update dynamically during feedback-driven learning as contingencies change, and those that are sensitive to instruction. Together, these findings provide multiple points of entry for therapies designs to impact pain.

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Manganese-enhanced MRI depicts a reduction in brain response to nociception upon mTOR inhibition in chronic pain rats

10.21203/rs.3.rs-33778/v2 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Myeounghoon Cha ◽

Songyeon Choi ◽

Kyeongmin Kim ◽

Bae Hwan Lee

Keyword(s):

Chronic Pain ◽

Nerve Injury ◽

Pain Perception ◽

Imaging Techniques ◽

Pain Modulation ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Brain Response ◽

Related Area ◽

Mtor Inhibition ◽

The Brain

Abstract Neuropathic pain induced by a nerve injury can lead to chronic pain. Recent studies have reported hyperactive neural activities in the nociceptive-related area of the brain as a result of chronic pain. Although cerebral activities associated with hyperalgesia and allodynia in chronic pain models are difficult to represent with functional imaging techniques, advances in manganese (Mn)-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MEMRI) could facilitate the visualization of the activation of pain-specific neural responses in the cerebral cortex. In order to investigate the alleviation of pain nociception by mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) modulation, we observed cerebrocortical excitability changes and compared regional Mn 2+ enhancement after mTOR inhibition. At day 7 after nerve injury, drugs were applied into the intracortical area, and drug (Vehicle, Torin1, and XL388) effects were compared within groups using MEMRI. Therein, signal intensities of the insular cortex (IC), primary somatosensory cortex of the hind limb region, motor cortex 1/2, and anterior cingulate cortex regions were significantly reduced after application of mTOR inhibitors (Torin1 and XL388). Furthermore, rostral-caudal analysis of the IC indicated that the rostral region of the IC was more strongly associated with pain perception than the caudal region. Our data suggest that MEMRI can depict pain-related signal changes in the brain and that mTOR inhibition is closely correlated with pain modulation in chronic pain rats.

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Intersubject Synchronisation Analysis of Brain Activity Associated with the Instant Effects of Acupuncture: An Fmri Study

Acupuncture in Medicine ◽

10.1136/acupmed-2016-011327 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 36 (1) ◽

pp. 14-20 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Lingmin Jin ◽

Jinbo Sun ◽

Ziliang Xu ◽

Xuejuan Yang ◽

Peng Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Time Course ◽

Brain Activity ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Pain Modulation ◽

Acupuncture Stimulation ◽

Brain Responses ◽

Time Courses ◽

The Brain ◽

Stimulation Pattern ◽

De Qi

Objective To use a promising analytical method, namely intersubject synchronisation (ISS), to evaluate the brain activity associated with the instant effects of acupuncture and compare the findings with traditional general linear model (GLM) methods. Methods 30 healthy volunteers were recruited for this study. Block-designed manual acupuncture stimuli were delivered at SP6, and de qi sensations were measured after acupuncture stimulation. All subjects underwent functional MRI (fMRI) scanning during the acupuncture stimuli. The fMRI data were separately analysed by ISS and traditional GLM methods. Results All subjects experienced de qi sensations. ISS analysis showed that the regions activated during acupuncture stimulation at SP6 were mainly divided into five clusters based on the time courses. The time courses of clusters 1 and 2 were in line with the acupuncture stimulation pattern, and the active regions were mainly involved in the sensorimotor system and salience network. Clusters 3, 4 and 5 displayed an almost contrary time course relative to the stimulation pattern. The brain regions activated included the default mode network, descending pain modulation pathway and visual cortices. GLM analysis indicated that the brain responses associated with the instant effects of acupuncture were largely implicated in sensory and motor processing and sensory integration. Conclusion The ISS analysis considered the sustained effect of acupuncture and uncovered additional information not shown by GLM analysis. We suggest that ISS may be a suitable approach to investigate the brain responses associated with the instant effects of acupuncture.

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Data-Driven Approach to the Analysis of Real-Time FMRI Neurofeedback Data: Disorder-Specific Brain Synchrony in PTSD

International Journal of Neural Systems ◽

10.1142/s012906572150043x ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 2150043

Author(s):

Jana Zweerings ◽

Kiira Sarasjärvi ◽

Krystyna Anna Mathiak ◽

Jorge Iglesias-Fuster ◽

Fengyu Cong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Real Time ◽

Brain Activity ◽

Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽

Self Regulation ◽

Blood Oxygen Level Dependent ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Data Driven ◽

Post Traumatic Stress ◽

Data Driven Approach

Brain–computer interfaces (BCIs) can be used in real-time fMRI neurofeedback (rtfMRI NF) investigations to provide feedback on brain activity to enable voluntary regulation of the blood-oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) signal from localized brain regions. However, the temporal pattern of successful self-regulation is dynamic and complex. In particular, the general linear model (GLM) assumes fixed temporal model functions and misses other dynamics. We propose a novel data-driven analyses approach for rtfMRI NF using intersubject covariance (ISC) analysis. The potential of ISC was examined in a reanalysis of data from 21 healthy individuals and nine patients with post-traumatic stress-disorder (PTSD) performing up-regulation of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). ISC in the PTSD group differed from healthy controls in a network including the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). In both cohorts, ISC decreased throughout the experiment indicating the development of individual regulation strategies. ISC analyses are a promising approach to reveal novel information on the mechanisms involved in voluntary self-regulation of brain signals and thus extend the results from GLM-based methods. ISC enables a novel set of research questions that can guide future neurofeedback and neuroimaging investigations.

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Manganese-enhanced MRI depicts a reduction in brain response to nociception by mTOR inhibition in chronic pain rats

10.21203/rs.3.rs-33778/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Myeounghoon Cha ◽

Songyeon Choi ◽

Kyeongmin Kim ◽

Bae Hwan Lee

Keyword(s):

Chronic Pain ◽

Nerve Injury ◽

Pain Perception ◽

Imaging Techniques ◽

Pain Modulation ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Brain Response ◽

Related Area ◽

Mtor Inhibition ◽

The Brain

Abstract Neuropathic pain induced by a nerve injury could lead to chronic pain. Recent studies have reported hyperactive neural activities in the nociceptive-related area of the brain as a result of chronic pain. Although cerebral activities associated with hyperalgesia and allodynia in the chronic pain model were difficult to represent with functional imaging techniques, advances in manganese (Mn)-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MEMRI) could facilitate the visualization of the activation of pain-specific neural responses in the cerebral cortex. In order to investigate the alleviation of pain nociception by mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) modulation, we observed the cerebrocortical excitability changes and compared the regional Mn 2+ enhancement after mTOR inhibitions. At day 7 after nerve injury, drugs were applied into the intracortical area, and drug (Vehicle, Torin1 and XL388) effects were compared within groups using MEMRI. In the results, signal intensities of the insular cortex (IC), primary somatosensory cortex of the hind limb region (S1HL), motor cortex 1/2 (M1/2), and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) regions were significantly reduced after application of mTOR inhibitors (Torin1 and XL388). Furthermore, the rostral-caudal analysis of the IC indicated that the rostral region of the IC was more associated with pain perception than caudal region. Our data suggest that MEMRI could present the pain-related signal changes in the brain, and mTOR inhibition is closely correlated with pain modulation in chronic pain rats.

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