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Neural Plasticity 2021People with stigmatized characteristics tend to be devalued by others in a given society. The negative experiences related to stigma cause individuals to struggle as...
People with stigmatized characteristics tend to be devalued by others in a given society. The negative experiences related to stigma cause individuals to struggle as they would if they were in physical pain and bring various negative outcomes in the way that physical pain does. However, it is unclear whether stigma related to one's identity would affect their perception of physical pain. To address this issue, using sexism-related paradigms, we found that females had reduced pain threshold/tolerance in the Cold Pressor Test (Experiment 1) and an increased rating for nociceptive laser stimuli with fixed intensity (Experiment 2). Additionally, we observed that there was a larger laser-evoked N1, an early laser-evoked P2, and a larger magnitude of low-frequency component in laser-evoked potentials (LEPs) in the stigma condition than in the control condition (Experiment 3). Our study provides behavioral and electrophysiological evidence that sexism-related stigma affects the pain perception of females.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Cold Temperature; Female; Humans; Laser-Evoked Potentials; Pain Measurement; Pain Perception; Photic Stimulation; Sexism; Surveys and Questionnaires; Young Adult
PubMed: 33854543
DOI: 10.1155/2021/6612456 -
PLoS Computational Biology Jan 2017Perception is seen as a process that utilises partial and noisy information to construct a coherent understanding of the world. Here we argue that the experience of pain... (Review)
Review
Perception is seen as a process that utilises partial and noisy information to construct a coherent understanding of the world. Here we argue that the experience of pain is no different; it is based on incomplete, multimodal information, which is used to estimate potential bodily threat. We outline a Bayesian inference model, incorporating the key components of cue combination, causal inference, and temporal integration, which highlights the statistical problems in everyday perception. It is from this platform that we are able to review the pain literature, providing evidence from experimental, acute, and persistent phenomena to demonstrate the advantages of adopting a statistical account in pain. Our probabilistic conceptualisation suggests a principles-based view of pain, explaining a broad range of experimental and clinical findings and making testable predictions.
Topics: Bayes Theorem; Humans; Models, Neurological; Models, Statistical; Pain; Pain Perception
PubMed: 28081134
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005142 -
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews Oct 2022It is well-established that a single bout of exercise can reduce pain sensitivity (i.e., exercise-induced hypoalgesia) in healthy individuals. However, exercise-induced... (Review)
Review
It is well-established that a single bout of exercise can reduce pain sensitivity (i.e., exercise-induced hypoalgesia) in healthy individuals. However, exercise-induced hypoalgesia is often impaired in individuals with chronic pain. This might suggest that repeated bouts of exercise (i.e., exercise training) are needed in order to induce a reduction in pain sensitivity (i.e., training-induced hypoalgesia) among individuals with chronic pain, given that a single bout of exercise seems to be insufficient to alter pain. However, the effect of repeated bouts of exercise on pain sensitivity and its underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Therefore, the purpose of this review was to provide an overview of the existing literature on training-induced hypoalgesia, as well as discuss potential mechanisms of training-induced hypoalgesia and offer considerations for future research. Existing literature suggests that training interventions may induce hypoalgesic adaptations potentially driven by central nervous system and immune system factors. However, the limited number of randomized controlled trials available, along with the lack of understanding of underlying mechanisms, provides a rationale for future research.
Topics: Chronic Pain; Exercise; Humans; Pain Measurement; Pain Perception; Pain Threshold
PubMed: 36096206
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104858 -
Pain Aug 2015
Topics: Chronic Pain; Female; Humans; Male; Pain Perception; Pain Threshold; Sleep; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders
PubMed: 26176807
DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000000144 -
Best Practice & Research. Clinical... Dec 2017Pain in spondyloarthritis is usually attributed to inflammation. However, treatment with potent biologic agents that control inflammation does not always control the... (Review)
Review
Pain in spondyloarthritis is usually attributed to inflammation. However, treatment with potent biologic agents that control inflammation does not always control the pain. Pain is hence likely to be multifactorial. Fatigue is another prominent feature of this condition which again tends to respond poorly to potent biologic agents. There is also a growing interest in coexisting fibromyalgia in this group of patients and how this affects response to biologic therapies. Advances in neuroimaging have helped in better understanding the dynamic nature of brain networks in the perception of pain. Animal models have helped in developing concepts of peripheral and central sensitization in pain transmission. This review discusses the neuroimmune basis of pain in ankylosing spondylitis, with an emphasis on brain networks and the complex interactions between the nervous system and the immune system at various levels. It also provides some insights into the differences in pain perception between men and women.
Topics: Animals; Central Nervous System Sensitization; Female; Humans; Male; Neuroimmunomodulation; Pain; Pain Perception; Spondylarthritis
PubMed: 30509443
DOI: 10.1016/j.berh.2018.07.003 -
The Journal of Neuroscience : the... Apr 2022As a predominately positive emotion, nostalgia serves various adaptive functions, including a recently revealed analgesic effect. The current fMRI study aimed to explore...
As a predominately positive emotion, nostalgia serves various adaptive functions, including a recently revealed analgesic effect. The current fMRI study aimed to explore the neural mechanisms underlying the nostalgia-induced analgesic effect on noxious thermal stimuli of different intensities. Human participants' (males and females) behavior results showed that the nostalgia paradigm significantly reduced participants' perception of pain, particularly at low pain intensities. fMRI analysis revealed that analgesia was related to decreased brain activity in pain-related brain regions, including the lingual and parahippocampal gyrus. Notably, anterior thalamic activation during the nostalgia stage predicted posterior parietal thalamus activation during the pain stage, suggesting that the thalamus might play a key role as a central functional linkage in the analgesic effect. Moreover, while thalamus-PAG functional connectivity was found to be related to nostalgic strength, periaqueductal gray-dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (PAG-dlPFC) functional connectivity was found to be associated with pain perception, suggesting possible analgesic modulatory pathways. These findings demonstrate the analgesic effect of nostalgia and, more importantly, shed light on its neural mechanism. Nostalgia is known to reduce individuals' perception of physical pain. The underlying brain mechanisms, however, are unclear. Our study found that the thalamus plays a key role as a functional linkage between nostalgia and pain, suggesting a possible analgesic modulatory mechanism of nostalgia. These findings have implications for the underlying brain mechanisms of psychological analgesia.
Topics: Analgesia; Analgesics; Brain Mapping; Female; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Pain; Pain Perception
PubMed: 35232762
DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2123-21.2022 -
Neuroscience Sep 2018An accumulating body of evidence suggests that the hypothalamic neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) has a modulatory effect on pain processing. Particularly strong evidence comes... (Review)
Review
An accumulating body of evidence suggests that the hypothalamic neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) has a modulatory effect on pain processing. Particularly strong evidence comes from animal models. Here, we review recent advances in animal research on the analgesic effects of OT and discuss possible target sites of OT within descending and ascending pain pathways in the brain. In addition to the spinal cord being a direct target of the neuropeptide, OT has also been shown to modulate the neuronal activity of limbic and cortical brain regions, which play a major role in the cognitive and emotional processing of pain. Human studies investigating the influence of OT on pain perception are less numerous and have revealed less consistent results. The human literature is therefore scanned thoroughly and different approaches to study the effects of OT on pain perception in humans are discussed. Moreover, we also address how OT might alleviate pain by influencing socio-emotional components in humans. We conclude that further investigating specific OT and OT-sensitive circuits, which modulate pain processing especially in primates, will improve our understanding of OT-analgesic effects. In human research, the increased use of neuroimaging and autonomic measures might help to bridge the gap to animal studies.
Topics: Analgesics; Animals; Brain; Humans; Models, Neurological; Oxytocin; Pain Perception; Spinal Cord
PubMed: 28965836
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2017.09.041 -
Muscle & Nerve Nov 2022Electrodiagnostic testing (EDX) may be perceived as painful, which may influence patient expectations and test completion. Our aim was to characterize which component of...
INTRODUCTION/AIMS
Electrodiagnostic testing (EDX) may be perceived as painful, which may influence patient expectations and test completion. Our aim was to characterize which component of the EDX was more painful, and to determine if any factors, particularly performance by a learner, influenced this perception.
METHODS
Participants were prospectively recruited and completed a brief questionnaire to rate their perception of pain before and after each component of the EDX. Demographic information and information about the test itself was collected.
RESULTS
A total of 251 participants were recruited, 55.3% female, with a mean age of 52.9 y. Most participants rated pain after nerve conduction studies (NCS) and needle electromyography (EMG) as mild to moderate with a similar number rating each component as more painful than the other. There was no effect of sex on overall ratings, although females felt that the test was more painful than anticipated more often than males. If a learner performed the EMG, it was more likely that the test would be rated as moderately to severely painful, and more likely for the EMG to be rated as more painful than the NCS (p < .05).
DISCUSSION
The finding that NCS and EMG perceived pain were similar may help accurately inform patients of test expectations, guide test planning and help reduce the likelihood of incomplete or canceled testing. More effort might be required to help mitigate EMG pain when learners are involved.
Topics: Male; Humans; Female; Middle Aged; Neural Conduction; Pain Perception; Electromyography; Pain; Neurologic Examination
PubMed: 36059146
DOI: 10.1002/mus.27712 -
Handbook of Clinical Neurology 2018Pain is a very relevant function for our survival and its alteration leads to important consequences for people's lives. In the last decades, researchers have started to... (Review)
Review
Pain is a very relevant function for our survival and its alteration leads to important consequences for people's lives. In the last decades, researchers have started to investigate pain from a neurocognitive and neuropsychologic perspective, showing some important similarities and differences with other cognitive and perceptual functions. The complexity of pain perception, due to its multicomponential nature, has led to the need to interpret pain within a multisensory frame of reference. That is, this function and its neural foundation cannot be fully understood without taking into consideration the processing of other information that is concurrently presented together with noxious stimuli. The extant research in this field has shown that the parietal cortex plays a major role in pain perception, due to its involvement in the integration of information coming from different sources, to the support of body ownership, and to its role in sustaining spatial attention and awareness. It is likely that this neurocognitive knowledge will lead to better treatments of chronic and acute pain in the future.
Topics: Animals; Humans; Pain Perception; Parietal Lobe
PubMed: 29519454
DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-444-63622-5.00005-X -
Neuroscience Dec 2016Pain is an ambiguous perception: the same pain stimulation can be perceived differently in different contexts, producing different experiences, ranging from mild to... (Review)
Review
Pain is an ambiguous perception: the same pain stimulation can be perceived differently in different contexts, producing different experiences, ranging from mild to unbearable pain. It can be even experienced as a rewarding sensation within the appropriate context. Overall, placebo and nocebo effects appear to be very good models to understand how the psychosocial context modulates the experience of pain. In this review, we examine the effects of different contexts on pain, with a specific focus on the neurobiological mechanisms. Positive and rewarding contexts inform the patients that an effective treatment is being delivered and are capable of producing pain relief through the activation of specific systems such as opioids, cannabinoids and dopamine. Conversely, a negative context can produce pain exacerbation and clinical worsening through the modulation of different systems, such as the activation of cholecystokinin and the deactivation of opioids and dopamine. In addition, when a therapy is delivered unbeknownst to the patient, its effects are reduced. A better understanding of the neurobiological underpinnings of the context-pain interaction is a challenge both for future pain research and for good clinical practice.
Topics: Emotions; Humans; Pain; Pain Perception
PubMed: 26827944
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2016.01.053