Cyclic changes in sensations to painful stimuli in migraine patients

Cortical activation by tactile and painful stimuli in hemispherectomized patients.

Hemispherectomized patients are able to perceive tactile and painful stimuli on their nonparetic as well as paretic body halves. We have used functional MRI to study the cortical mechanisms underlying this preserved somatosensory capacity. Nonpainful brushing and painful heat were applied to the skin of the legs in four hemispherectomized patients and, for comparison, in four normal subjects. C...

The responses to painful stimuli of patients with severe chronic painful conditions.

In the study of patients who have severe and prolonged, chronic, painful conditions, it is a clinical fact that some will react more profoundly than others to what are apparently similar conditions. It is also obvious clinically that pain is an extreme fearand anxiety-provoking stimulus. Furthermore, the diagnosis of "functional pain," or of a "functional element" in pain, is one frequently att...

Sex differences in responsiveness to painful and non-painful stimuli are dependent upon the stimulation method.

Sex differences in thermo- and electrocutaneous responsiveness to painful and non-painful stimuli were investigated in 20 women and 20 men. Heat pain, warmth, and cold thresholds were assessed on the hand and foot with a Peltier thermode system. In addition, subjects used magnitude estimation to judge the sensation intensity evoked by temperatures ranging from 38 degrees C to 48 degrees C appli...

Interventions on Emotional Responses to Painful Stimuli in Patients with Chronic Pain

Enhanced sensitivity to punctate painful stimuli in female patients with chronic low back pain

BACKGROUND Chronic low back pain (CLBP) has been shown to be associated with various pathophysiological changes at several level of the sensorimotor system, pointing to a general hypersensitivity in CLBP patients. The aim of the present study was to investigate signs of generalized mechanical pain hypersensitivity in CLBP patients on the hand and on the painful site of the back. METHODS Pinpr...