Inter-individual differences in pain processing investigated by functional magnetic resonance imaging of the brainstem and spinal cord

• Published in: Neuroscience Vol. 307; pp. 231 - 241
• Main Authors: Khan, H.S, Stroman, P.W
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Ltd 29.10.2015
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; brain; Brain Stem - blood supply; brainstem; Female; fMRI; healthy; Healthy Volunteers; Humans; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Individuality; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Middle Aged; Neurology; Oxygen - blood; pain; Pain - etiology; Pain - pathology; Pain Measurement; Physical Stimulation - adverse effects; Psychophysics; spinal cord; Spinal Cord - blood supply; Young Adult; medial prefrontal cortex; NRM; RVM; GLM; PFC; locus coeruleus; parabrachial nucleus; nucleus gigantocellularis; primary somatosensory cortex; FWE; echo time; BOLD; brainstem; insular cortex; PBN; anterior cingulate cortex; nucleus raphe magnus; repetition time; nucleus tractus solitarius; rostral ventromedial medulla; general linear model; fMRI; Medical Image Registration Toolbox; PCC; mPFC; secondary somatosensory cortex; SEM; functional magnetic resonance imaging; S1; S2; BPN; prefrontal cortex; NGc; NTS; family-wise error; INS; C8; posterior cingulate cortex; spinal cord; 8th cervical; basilar pontine nuclei; ACC; pain; structural equation modeling; brain; TE; healthy; LC; PAG; blood oxygenation-level dependent; MIRT; periaqueductal gray matter; TR
• ISSN: 0306-4522; 1873-7544
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2015.08.059

Highlights • The pain elicited by a heat stimulus varies widely across healthy participants. • fMRI of the brainstem/spinal cord show pain-related variations across individuals. • Structural equation modeling reveals connectivity that varies with pain ratings. • Individual differences in pain can arise from modulation of spinal nociception.