No abstract

Background: Many studies have shown effects of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (a-tDCS) and high-frequency transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) on elevating cortical excitability. Moreover, tRNS with a direct current (DC)-offset is more likely to lead to increases in cortical excitability than solely tRNS. While a-tDCS over primary motor cortex (M1) has been shown to attenuate pain perception, tRNS þ DC-offset may prove as an effective means for pain relief.Objective: This study aimed to examine effects of a-tDCS and high-frequency tRNS þ DC-offset over M1 on pain expectation and perception, and assess whether these effects could be influenced by the certainty of pain expectation. Methods: Using a double-blinded and sham-controlled design, 150 healthy participants were recruited to receive a single-session a-tDCS, high-frequency tRNS þ DC-offset, or sham stimulation over M1. The expectation and perception of electrical stimulation in certain and uncertain contexts were assessed at baseline, immediately after, and 30 min after stimulation. Results: Compared with sham stimulation, a-tDCS induced immediate analgesic effects that were greater when the stimulation outcome was expected with uncertainty; tRNS induced immediate and sustained analgesic effects that were mediated by decreasing pain expectation. Nevertheless, we found no strong evidence for tRNS being more effective for attenuating pain than a-tDCS. Conclusions: The analgesic effects of a-tDCS and tRNS showed different temporal courses, which could be related to the more sustained effectiveness of high-frequency tRNS þ DC-offset in elevating cortical excitability. Moreover, expectations of pain intensity should be taken into consideration to maximize the benefits of neuromodulation.

Brain dynamics can be modeled by a sequence of transient, nonoverlapping patterns of quasi-stable electrical potentials named “microstates.” While electroencephalographic (EEG) microstates among patients with chronic pain remained inconsistent in the literature, this study characterizes the temporal dynamics of EEG microstates among healthy individuals during experimental sustained pain. We applied capsaicin (pain condition) or control (no-pain condition) cream to 58 healthy participants in different sessions and recorded resting-state EEG 15 min after application. We identified 4 canonical microstates (A–D) that are related to auditory, visual, salience, and attentional networks. Microstate C had less occurrence, as were bidirectional transitions between microstate C and microstates A and B during sustained pain. In contrast, sustained pain was associated with more frequent and longer duration of microsite D, as well as more bidirectional transitions between microstate D and microstates A and B. Microstate D duration positively correlated with intensity of ongoing pain. Sustained pain improved global integration within microstate C functional network, but weakened global integration and efficiency within microstate D functional network. These results suggest that sustained pain leads to an imbalance between processes that load on saliency (microstate C) and processes related to switching and reorientation of attention (microstate D).

This article collected 2020 data from wind and Cninfo, used them as samples, and used a multiple regression model to explore the impact of carbon neutrality on Chinese energy companies. The final result found that carbon information disclosure is positively correlated with corporate value, ESG, and corporate, concluding that value is negatively correlated. At the same time, this article also finds a strong correlation between better financial performance and better climate change disclosure and performance. However, the data used in this article is during the COVID-19 period, so the conclusion may be different from other periods. It is recommended that future studies select data that is not during the COVID-19 period for research to avoid the impact of COVID-19 on the problems we are studying.