Spinal Nociception is Facilitated during Cognitive Distraction

Henrich, Mauricio; Frahm, Ken Steffen; Coghill, Robert C.; Andersen, Ole Kæseler

doi:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2022.03.038

Cited by 9 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 94 publications

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“…In the model proposed previously 37 , total neuronal output was reduced in divided attention ratings because RFs were thought to shrink, in contrast to the condition of overall ratings where RFs were thought to enlarge. This is in line with experiments showing that reflex RFs are reduced when attention is directed to a stimulated site of the body compared to a distraction condition, e.g., the Stroop task 19 . The ultimate size of the RF is likely to be the result of the complex interaction between top-down and bottom-up processes starting from the activation of nociceptive neurons within the dorsal horn.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…This form of spatial tuning may result from a shrinkage of receptive fields (RF), such that SSp is reduced. This hypothesis is consistent with studies on healthy volunteers 18,34 as well as awake animals 17 which showed that nociceptive RFs are shifted or can change their size under the influence of attention. Most importantly, research from other sensory systems supports the role of attention in the spatial shaping of RFs.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…Although some evidence supports this technique in children 5 , its clinical application to chronic pain populations in adults remains controversial 46 with potential side effects such as paradoxically higher pain following the distraction procedure 8,15 . Interestingly, it seems that physiologically, reflex RFs become enlarged following a distraction maneuver 18 , whereas they shrink when attention is directed to painful stimulation 4 . Thus, engaging in pain-related attention, a task that can be potentially designed as a mixture of divided and directed attention ratings, may potentially reduce pain, particularly during chronic pain syndromes characterized by extensive pain radiation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Anthropometric measurements of the hand such as hand width (r = 0.16, p = 0.32), length (r = 0.11, p = 0.51) and circumference (r < -0.01, p = 0.99) were not related to the magnitude of SSp. Sex differences in the magnitude of SSp (M=-0.09, 95% [CI: -0.33, 0.14], t [38] = -0.80, p = 0.43, d z = 0.25) and experienced pain ratings (M = 2.27, 95% [CI: -12.02, 16.57], t [38] = 0.32, p = 0.75, d z = 0.10) were not found.…”

Section: Additional Exploratory Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spatial tuning in nociceptive processing is driven by attention

Adamczyk

Katra

Szikszay

et al. 2022

Preprint

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When the source of nociception expands across a body area, the experience of pain increases due to the spatial integration of nociceptive information. This well-established effect is called spatial summation of pain (SSp) and has been the subject of multiple investigations. Here, we used cold-induced SSp to investigate the effect of attention on the spatial tuning of nociceptive processing. Forty pain-free volunteers (N=40, 20 females) participated in this experiment. They took part in an SSp paradigm based on three hand immersions into cold water: Participants either immersed the ulnar segment (a), radial segment (b) or both hand segments (a+b) and provided overall pain ratings. In some trials based on a+b immersions, they were also asked to provide divided (i.e., first pain in a then in b; or reversed) and directed attention ratings (i.e., pain only in a or b). Results confirmed a clear SSp effect in which reported pain during immersions of a or b was less intense than pain during immersions of a+b (p<0.001). Data also confirmed that spatial tuning was altered. SSp was fully abolished when participants provided two ratings in a divided fashion (p<0.001). Furthermore, pain was significantly lower when attention was directed only to one segment (a OR b) during a+b immersion (p<0.001). We conclude that spatial tuning is dynamically driven by attention as reflected in abolished SSp. Directed attention was sufficient to focus spatial tuning and abolish SSp. Results support the role of cognitive processes such as attention in spatial tuning.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Additional Exploratory Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Spatial tuning in nociceptive processing is driven by attention

Adamczyk

Katra

Szikszay

et al. 2022

Preprint

Self Cite

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“…Objectively quantifying the symptom of spontaneous pain in preclinical models has been a major challenge, which has hampered the mechanistic studies required to develop reliable diagnostic tools and effective treatments (3,12). Monitoring behaviors like flinching, licking, or biting can detect spontaneous pain-related behaviors, but this is challenging because these events are relatively rare and sporadic (13)(14)(15)(16) and can be repressed by other behavioral activities (17)(18)(19)(20). The grimace scale can detect signs of ongoing, sustained pain, especially during inflammatory (21) and chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain (22).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nociceptor spontaneous activity is responsible for fragmenting non–rapid eye movement sleep in mouse models of neuropathic pain

Alexandre,

Miracca,

Holanda

et al. 2024

Sci. Transl. Med.

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Spontaneous pain, a major complaint of patients with neuropathic pain, has eluded study because there is no reliable marker in either preclinical models or clinical studies. Here, we performed a comprehensive electroencephalogram/electromyogram analysis of sleep in several mouse models of chronic pain: neuropathic (spared nerve injury and chronic constriction injury), inflammatory (Freund’s complete adjuvant and carrageenan, plantar incision) and chemical pain (capsaicin). We find that peripheral axonal injury drives fragmentation of sleep by increasing brief arousals from non–rapid eye movement sleep (NREMS) without changing total sleep amount. In contrast to neuropathic pain, inflammatory or chemical pain did not increase brief arousals. NREMS fragmentation was reduced by the analgesics gabapentin and carbamazepine, and it resolved when pain sensitivity returned to normal in a transient neuropathic pain model (sciatic nerve crush). Genetic silencing of peripheral sensory neurons or ablation of CGRP + neurons in the parabrachial nucleus prevented sleep fragmentation, whereas pharmacological blockade of skin sensory fibers was ineffective, indicating that the neural activity driving the arousals originates ectopically in primary nociceptor neurons and is relayed through the lateral parabrachial nucleus. These findings identify NREMS fragmentation by brief arousals as an effective proxy to measure spontaneous neuropathic pain in mice.

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