Joëlle A Dubé1, Catherine Mercier. 1. Université Laval, Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche en réadaptation en intégration (CIRRIS), Québec, Canada G1M 2S8.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to test whether pain and pain expectation affect corticospinal excitability. METHODS:Transcranial magnetic stimulation was used to measure corticospinal excitability among 15 subjects in five experimental conditions in which thermic stimulations were applied to the hand: (1) neutral stimulus; (2) actual heat; (3) actual pain; (4) expected heat; and (5) expected pain. Motor-evoked potentials were recorded in two intrinsic hand muscles. RESULTS: A significant difference was found between experimental conditions for both muscles (p<0.005). Contrast analysis showed that actual pain led to a significant corticospinal inhibition compared with both neutral and actual heat conditions, whereas no effect was observed during pain expectation. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that acute pain (low-to-moderate intensity (∼3/10)) does elicit motor inhibition but that its expectation does not. SIGNIFICANCE: The fact that low and short-lasting pain can induce motor inhibition suggests that even moderate pain might interfere with optimal motor function in patients with both pain and motor deficits.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to test whether pain and pain expectation affect corticospinal excitability. METHODS: Transcranial magnetic stimulation was used to measure corticospinal excitability among 15 subjects in five experimental conditions in which thermic stimulations were applied to the hand: (1) neutral stimulus; (2) actual heat; (3) actual pain; (4) expected heat; and (5) expected pain. Motor-evoked potentials were recorded in two intrinsic hand muscles. RESULTS: A significant difference was found between experimental conditions for both muscles (p<0.005). Contrast analysis showed that actual pain led to a significant corticospinal inhibition compared with both neutral and actual heat conditions, whereas no effect was observed during pain expectation. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that acute pain (low-to-moderate intensity (∼3/10)) does elicit motor inhibition but that its expectation does not. SIGNIFICANCE: The fact that low and short-lasting pain can induce motor inhibition suggests that even moderate pain might interfere with optimal motor function in patients with both pain and motor deficits.
Authors: Ryan J Marker; Jennifer L Stephenson; Benzi M Kluger; Douglas Curran-Everett; Katrina S Maluf Journal: J Psychosom Res Date: 2013-12-12 Impact factor: 4.620