Experimental pain stimuli can be used to simulate patients' pain experience. We review recent developments in psychophysical pain testing, focusing on the application of the dynamic tests-conditioned pain modulation (CPM) and temporal summation (TS). Typically, patients with clinical pain of various types express either less efficient CPM or enhanced TS, or both. These tests can be used in pred...

It is well accepted that pain is a multidimensional experience, but little is known of how the brain represents these dimensions. We used positron emission tomography (PET) to indirectly measure pain-evoked cerebral activity before and after hypnotic suggestions were given to modulate the perceived intensity of a painful stimulus. These techniques were similar to those of a previous study in wh...

BACKGROUND Pain control in chronic pancreatitis is a major challenge; the mechanisms behind analgesic treatment are poorly understood. This study aims to investigate the differences in pain sensitivity and modulation in chronic pancreatitis patients, based on their clinical response (responders vs nonresponders) to placebo or pregabalin treatment. METHODS This study was part of a randomized, ...

Several studies in cognitive neuroscience have investigated the cognitive and affective modulation of pain. By contrast, fewer studies have focused on the social modulation of pain, despite a plethora of relevant clinical findings. Here we present the first review of experimental studies addressing how interpersonal factors, such as the presence, behavior, and spatial proximity of an observer, ...

objective(s):the relationship between tramadol, as an antinociceptive drug, and locus coeruleus (lc), the main noradrenergic nucleus of the brain that affects regulation and modulation of pain through descending noradrenergic pathways was investigated. materials and methods: male sprague-dawley rats were divided into four groups of 10 rats. the rats were fixed in stereotaxic instrument and then...

Pain is a complex entity that can be described in several dimensions, such as, acute pain and chronic pain, characterized by its duration. After the tissue injury, activation of sensory nervous occurs from where different pro-inflammatory mediators are released with consequent nociceptive transmission characterizes genesis inflammatory pain. The main objective this study was to review role opio...

Hemington KS, Coulombe MA. The periaqueductal gray and descending pain modulation: why should we study them and what role do they play in chronic pain? J Neurophysiol 114: 2080–2083, 2015. First published February 11, 2015; doi:10.1152/jn.00998.2014.—In this Neuro Forum we discuss the significance of a recent study by Yu et al. (Neuroimage Clin 6: 100–108, 2014). The authors examined functional...

Pain can be modulated by several cognitive techniques, typically involving increased cognitive control and decreased sensory processing. Recently, it has been demonstrated that pain can also be attenuated by mindfulness. Here, we investigate the underlying brain mechanisms by which the state of mindfulness reduces pain. Mindfulness practitioners and controls received unpleasant electric stimuli...