Spatial Attention Can Modulate the Development of Secondary Hyperalgesia

Filbrich, Lieve; Broeke, Emanuel van den; Legrain, Valéry; Mouraux, André

doi:10.26226/morressier.5d402fa48f2158d25ec1240b

Cited by 1 publication

(12 citation statements)

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“…Total HFS duration was about 2 min. This HFS stimulation pattern (12 trains at 100 Hz) differed slightly from the stimulation pattern used by Filbrich et al (2020) (5 trains at 100 Hz) and the one described in the preregistration (12 trains at 42 Hz), but the total number of pulses (N = 500) and their presentation as stimulation bursts separated by a short interval were identical. We hypothesized that the chosen HFS protocol with an increased number of trains, could potentially facilitate habituation to the HFS stimuli decreasing their salience and consequently, facilitating Materials and method.…”

Section: Stimuli and Apparatusmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…Torta et al (2020) demonstrated that secondary hyperalgesia may be reduced when participants are required to perform, concomitantly to the induction of secondary hyperalgesia, a very demanding and difficult cognitive task (Such as a task 10.3389/fnhum.2022.997230 involving working memory abilities). Similarly, Filbrich et al (2020) reported that selectively directing spatial attention to one arm can modify the experimental induction of central sensitization in healthy volunteers, leading to an enhanced sensitivity to mechanical pinprick stimuli applied on the arm where attention was focused on, as compared to sensitivity tested on the other arm. To induce secondary hyperalgesia, they simultaneously applied HFS on the left and right forearms while participants performed a task requiring discriminating vibrotactile stimuli specifically delivered on one of the two forearms, while ignoring all the other stimuli on the opposite arm.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…However, the results of Filbrich et al (2020), despite reaching statistical significance, showed very small differences (5 points on a 100-point numerical scale used to assess intensity perception), and the hypothesis was tested in a small sample (N = 21), which could lessen the reliability of the results. In low-powered studies, the chance of discovering false-positives increases, and it is more likely that the magnitude of the effect size is inflated (Ioannidis, 2005;Button et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Seventy-two participants took part in the experiment. Sample size was determined using G * power for a one-sided paired sample t-test considering the smallest effect size found in Filbrich et al (2020) (d = 0.32, α = 0.05 and, power = 0.85). The sample size required was of about 62 participants.…”

Section: Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The 64 mN force was chosen based on previous studies showing that a probe with an exerting force of 64 mN captures the strongest and longest-lasting enhancement in pinprick evoked brain potentials after the induction of secondary hyperalgesia when compared to other forces (van den Broeke et al, 2015Broeke et al, , 2016a. The 128 mN force was chosen because it had been used in the replicated study (Filbrich et al, 2020).…”

Section: Assessment Of the High-frequency Stimulation-induced Increas...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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No evidence for an effect of selective spatial attention on the development of secondary hyperalgesia: A replication study

Porta

Vilz

Kuzminova

et al. 2022

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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Central sensitization refers to the increased responsiveness of nociceptive neurons in the central nervous system after repeated or sustained peripheral nociceptor activation. It is hypothesized to play a key role in the development of chronic pain. A hallmark of central sensitization is an increased sensitivity to noxious mechanical stimuli extending beyond the injured location, known as secondary hyperalgesia. For its ability to modulate the transmission and the processing of nociceptive inputs, attention could constitute a promising target to prevent central sensitization and the development of chronic pain. It was recently shown that the experimental induction of central sensitization at both forearms of healthy volunteers using bilateral high-frequency electrocutaneous stimulation (HFS), can be modulated by encouraging participants to selectively focus their attention to one arm, to the detriment of the other arm, resulting in a greater secondary hyperalgesia on the attended arm as compared to the unattended one. Given the potential value of the question being addressed, we conducted a preregistered replication study in a well-powered independent sample to assess the robustness of the effect, i.e., the modulatory role of spatial attention on the induction of central sensitization. This hypothesis was tested using a double-blind, within-subject design. Sixty-seven healthy volunteers performed a task that required focusing attention toward one forearm to discriminate innocuous vibrotactile stimuli while HFS was applied on both forearms simultaneously. Our results showed a significant increase in mechanical sensitivity directly and 20 min after HFS. However, in contrast to the previous study, we did not find a significant difference in the development of secondary hyperalgesia between the attended vs. unattended arms. Our results question whether spatial selective attention affects the development of secondary hyperalgesia. Alternatively, the non-replication could be because the bottom-up capture of attention caused by the HFS-mediated sensation was too strong in comparison to the top-down modulation exerted by the attentional task. In other words, the task was not engaging enough and the HFS pulses, including those on the unattended arm, were too salient to allow a selective focus on one arm and modulate nociceptive processing.

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Section: Stimuli and Apparatusmentioning

confidence: 86%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%