The effect of experimental pain on the excitability of the corticospinal tract in humans: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Rohel, Antoine; Bouffard, Jason; Patricio, Philippe; Mavromatis, N.; Billot, Maxime; Roy, Jean‐Sébastien; Bouyer, Laurent J.; Mercier, Catherine; Massé‐Alarie, Hugo

doi:10.1002/ejp.1746

Cited by 49 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 79 publications

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“…Motor performance is impaired in FM patients 31 , and motor cortex metabolism basically reduced when strictly related to active movement. Movement observation provokes motor networks activations and modulation, which suggests cortical adaptation mechanisms able to restart a virtuous phase of beneficial interaction with pain-related circuits 43 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Movement observation activates motor cortex in fibromyalgia patients: a fNIRS study

Gentile

Brunetti

Ricci

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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Scientific evidence points to a shared neural representation between performing and observing an action. The action observation notoriously determines a modulation of the observer’s sensorimotor system, a phenomenon called Motor Resonance (MR). Fibromyalgia (FM) patients suffer from a condition characterized by generalized musculoskeletal pain in which even simple movement can exacerbate their symptoms. Maladaptive functioning of the primary motor cortex is a common finding in patients with chronic pain. Activation of the motor cortex is known to induce an analgesic effect in patients with chronic pain. In this exploratory study, we intend to verify if the mere observation of a movement could elicit activation of the motor cortical areas in patients with FM. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the presence of MR in patients affected by fibromyalgia. We adopted a behavioral paradigm known for detecting the presence of MR and a neurophysiological experiment. Participants watched videos showing gripping movements towards a graspable or an ungraspable object, respectively, and were asked to press a button the instant the agent touched the object (Time-to-contact detection session). In a different experimental session, participants were only requested to observe and pay attention to the videos (Observation-only session). During each experimental session, the participants’ cerebral hemodynamic activity was recorded using the functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy method. The behavioral task analysis revealed the presence of MR in both FM patients and healthy controls. Moreover, neurophysiological findings suggested that the observation of movement during the Observation-only session provoked activation and modulation of the cortical motor networks of FM patients. These results could represent evidence of the possible beneficial effects of movement observation in restarting motor activation, notoriously reduced, in FM patients.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Movement observation activates motor cortex in fibromyalgia patients: a fNIRS study

Gentile

Brunetti

Ricci

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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“…Third, pain can trigger alterations in the construct of learning, which in turn can lead to neuroplastic changes in the cortex; however, we only reported data regarding behavioral response in the presence of experimental pain models, and excluded studies that focused only on neural plasticity. While a recent systematic ( Rohel et al, 2021 ) examined the effects of pain on corticospinal excitability, there is still an open question regarding the general effects of pain on neural plasticity induced during motor learning. Finally, the heterogenous nature of the included studies did not allow us to perform a meta-analysis, and therefore a narrative synthesis of the included studies was done instead.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Motor Learning in Response to Different Experimental Pain Models Among Healthy Individuals: A Systematic Review

Izadi

Franklin

Bellafiore

et al. 2022

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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Learning new movement patterns is a normal part of daily life, but of critical importance in both sport and rehabilitation. A major question is how different sensory signals are integrated together to give rise to motor adaptation and learning. More specifically, there is growing evidence that pain can give rise to alterations in the learning process. Despite a number of studies investigating the role of pain on the learning process, there is still no systematic review to summarize and critically assess investigations regarding this topic in the literature. Here in this systematic review, we summarize and critically evaluate studies that examined the influence of experimental pain on motor learning. Seventeen studies that exclusively assessed the effect of experimental pain models on motor learning among healthy human individuals were included for this systematic review, carried out based on the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) statement. The results of the review revealed there is no consensus regarding the effect of pain on the skill learning acquisition and retention. However, several studies demonstrated that participants who experienced pain continued to express a changed motor strategy to perform a motor task even 1 week after training under the pain condition. The results highlight a need for further studies in this area of research, and specifically to investigate whether pain has different effects on motor learning depending on the type of motor task.

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“…It has to be noted nevertheless that chronic pain does not necessarily have the same effect as acute pain. While previous studies of systemic review and meta-analysis showed reduced corticospinal excitability in the patients with experimental acute pain [ 28 , 29 ], no consistence pattern on TMS variables was observed for the chronic pain conditions [ 30 ]. In addition, our participants with SIS may change their movement patterns to avoid moving their affected shoulder due to pain.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Altered corticospinal excitability of scapular muscles in individuals with shoulder impingement syndrome

et al. 2022

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The purpose of this study is to assess and compare corticospinal excitability in the upper and lower trapezius and serratus anterior muscles in participants with and without shoulder impingement syndrome (SIS). Fourteen participants with SIS, and 14 without SIS were recruited through convenient sampling in this study. Transcranial magnetic stimulation assessment of the scapular muscles was performed while the participants were holding their arm at 90 degrees scaption. The motor-evoked potential (MEP), active motor threshold (AMT), latency of MEP, cortical silent period (CSP), activated area and center of gravity (COG) of cortical mapping were compared between groups using the Mann-Whitney U tests. The SIS group demonstrated following significances, higher AMTs of the lower trapezius (SIS: 0.60 ± 0.06; Comparison: 0.54 ± 0.07, p = 0.028) and the serratus anterior (SIS: 0.59 ± 0.04; Comparison: 0.54 ± 0.06, p = 0.022), longer CSP of the lower trapezius (SIS: 62.23 ± 22.87 ms; Comparison: 45.22 ± 14.64 ms, p = 0.019), and posteriorly shifted COG in the upper trapezius (SIS: 1.88 ± 1.06; Comparison: 2.76 ± 1.55, p = 0.048) and the serratus anterior (SIS: 2.13 ± 1.02; Comparison: 3.12 ± 1.88, p = 0.043), than the control group. In conclusion, participants with SIS demonstrated different organization of the corticospinal system, including decreased excitability, increased inhibition, and shift in motor representation of the scapular muscles.

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The effect of experimental pain on the excitability of the corticospinal tract in humans: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Cited by 49 publications

References 79 publications

Movement observation activates motor cortex in fibromyalgia patients: a fNIRS study

Movement observation activates motor cortex in fibromyalgia patients: a fNIRS study

Motor Learning in Response to Different Experimental Pain Models Among Healthy Individuals: A Systematic Review

Altered corticospinal excitability of scapular muscles in individuals with shoulder impingement syndrome

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