The DOI matches its Crossref record; 66 of the 66 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Pain sensitivity is inversely related to regional grey matter density in the brain
Open accessAbstract
Pain is a highly personal experience that varies substantially among individuals. In search of an anatomical correlate of pain sensitivity, we used voxel-based morphometry to investigate the relationship between grey matter density across the whole brain and interindividual differences in pain sensitivity in 116 healthy volunteers (62 women, 54 men). Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and psychophysical data from 10 previous functional MRI studies were used. Age, sex, unpleasantness ratings, scanner sequence, and sensory testing location were added to the model as covariates. Regression analysis of grey matter density across the whole brain and thermal pain intensity ratings at 49°C revealed a significant inverse relationship between pain sensitivity and grey matter density in bilateral regions of the posterior cingulate cortex, precuneus, intraparietal sulcus, and inferior parietal lobule. Unilateral regions of the left primary somatosensory cortex also exhibited this inverse relationship. No regions showed a positive relationship to pain sensitivity. These structural variations occurred in areas associated with the default mode network, attentional direction and shifting, as well as somatosensory processing. These findings underscore the potential importance of processes related to default mode thought and attention in shaping individual differences in pain sensitivity and indicate that pain sensitivity can potentially be predicted on the basis of brain structure.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“exhibit significantly lower activation in the precuneus/dPCC, central nodes of self–referential [12; 61] and nociceptive processing [17; 64]”
From Neural mechanisms supporting the relationship between dispositional mindfulness and pain (2018) · cites this paper as [17]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
Advances in functional and structural MR image analysis and implementation as FSL
Smith, S. M., Jenkinson, M., Woolrich, M. W., Beckmann, C. F., Behrens, T. E. J., Johansen-Berg, H., Bannister, P. R., De Luca, M., Drobnjak, I., Flitney, D. E., et al. (2004) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2004.07.051 · Cited by 13,630
A default mode of brain function
Raichle, M. E., MacLeod, A. M., Snyder, A. Z., Powers, W. J., Gusnard, D. A., & Shulman, G. L. (2001) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.98.2.676 · Cited by 12,190
Jenkinson, M., Bannister, P., Brady, M., & Smith, S. (2002) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1006/nimg.2002.1132 · Cited by 11,888
Fast robust automated brain extraction
Smith, S. M. (2002) · Human Brain Mapping · doi:10.1002/hbm.10062 · Cited by 10,496
Voxel-Based Morphometry—The Methods
Ashburner, J., & Friston, K. J. (2000) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1006/nimg.2000.0582 · Cited by 8,676
Zhang, Y., Brady, M., & Smith, S. M. (2001) · IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging · doi:10.1109/42.906424 · Cited by 7,628
A global optimisation method for robust affine registration of brain images
Jenkinson, M., & Smith, S. M. (2001) · Medical Image Analysis · doi:10.1016/s1361-8415(01)00036-6 · Cited by 7,018
SMITH, S., & NICHOLS, T. (2009) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2008.03.061 · Cited by 5,250
A Voxel-Based Morphometric Study of Ageing in 465 Normal Adult Human Brains
Good, C. D., Johnsrude, I. S., Ashburner, J., Henson, R. N. A., Friston, K. J., & Frackowiak, R. S. J. (2001) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1006/nimg.2001.0786 · Cited by 4,561
The validation of visual analogue scales as ratio scale measures for chronic and experimental pain
Price, D. D., McGrath, P. A., Rafii, A., & Buckingham, B. (1983) · Pain · doi:10.1016/0304-3959(83)90126-4 · Cited by 3,921
Searching for a baseline: Functional imaging and the resting human brain
Gusnard, D. A., & Raichle, M. E. (2001) · Nature Reviews Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/35094500 · Cited by 3,371
Gusnard, D. A., Akbudak, E., Shulman, G. L., & Raichle, M. E. (2001) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.071043098 · Cited by 2,997
Wandering minds: the default network and stimulus-independent thought
Mason, M. F., Norton, M. I., Van Horn, J. D., Wegner, D. M., Grafton, S. T., & Macrae, C. N. (2007) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1131295 · Cited by 2,792
The neural mechanisms of top-down attentional control
Hopfinger, J. B., Buonocore, M. H., & Mangun, G. R. (2000) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/72999 · Cited by 1,876
Chronic back pain is associated with decreased prefrontal and thalamic gray matter density
Apkarian, A. V., Sosa, Y., Sonty, S., Levy, R. M., Harden, R. N., Parrish, T. B., & Gitelman, D. R. (2004) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.2541-04.2004 · Cited by 1,434
Effect of neonatal circumcision on pain response during subsequent routine vaccination
Taddio, A., Katz, J. D., Ilersich, A. L., & Koren, G. (1997) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(96)10316-0 · Cited by 1,202
Price, D. D., Bush, F. M., Long, S., & Harkins, S. W. (1994) · Pain · doi:10.1016/0304-3959(94)90097-3 · Cited by 1,174
A Parametric Manipulation of Factors Affecting Task-induced Deactivation in Functional Neuroimaging
McKiernan, K. A., Kaufman, J. N., Kucera-Thompson, J., & Binder, J. R. (2003) · Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience · doi:10.1162/089892903321593117 · Cited by 1,080
Pain intensity processing within the human brain: a bilateral, distributed mechanism
Coghill, R. C., Sang, C. N., Maisog, J. M., & Iadarola, M. J. (1999) · Journal of Neurophysiology · doi:10.1152/jn.1999.82.4.1934 · Cited by 1,077
Self-citationNormal Sexual Dimorphism of the Adult Human Brain Assessed by In Vivo Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Goldstein, J. M. (2001) · Cerebral Cortex · doi:10.1093/cercor/11.6.490 · Cited by 1,052
Imaging how attention modulates pain in humans using functional MRI
Bantick, S. J., Wise, R. G., Ploghaus, A., Clare, S., Smith, S. M., & Tracey, I. (2002) · Brain · doi:10.1093/brain/awf022 · Cited by 888
Beyond Feeling: Chronic Pain Hurts the Brain, Disrupting the Default-Mode Network Dynamics
Baliki, M. N., Geha, P., Apkarian, A. V., & Chialvo, D. R. (2008) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.4123-07.2008 · Cited by 881
Distributed processing of pain and vibration by the human brain
Coghill, R., Talbot, J., Evans, A., Meyer, E., Gjedde, A., Bushnell, M., & Duncan, G. (1994) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.14-07-04095.1994 · Cited by 808
Self-citationTransient neural activity in human parietal cortex during spatial attention shifts
Yantis, S., Schwarzbach, J. V., Serences, J. T., Carlson, R. L., Steinmetz, M. A., Pekar, J. J., & Courtney, S. M. (2002) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nn921 · Cited by 733
Neural Systems for Visual Orienting and Their Relationships to Spatial Working Memory
Corbetta, M., Kincade, J. M., & Shulman, G. L. (2002) · Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience · doi:10.1162/089892902317362029 · Cited by 698
Hasenkamp, W., Wilson-Mendenhall, C. D., Duncan, E., & Barsalou, L. W. (2012) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.07.008 · Cited by 643
Brain Mechanisms Supporting the Modulation of Pain by Mindfulness Meditation
Zeidan, F., Martucci, K. T., Kraft, R. A., Gordon, N. S., McHaffie, J. G., & Coghill, R. C. (2011) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.5791-10.2011 · Cited by 640
Self-citationBrain mechanisms of pain affect and pain modulation
Rainville, P. (2002) · Current Opinion in Neurobiology · doi:10.1016/s0959-4388(02)00313-6 · Cited by 634
Derbyshire, S. W. G., Jones, A. K. P., Gyulai, F., Clark, S., Townsend, D., & Firestone, L. L. (1997) · Pain · doi:10.1016/s0304-3959(97)00138-3 · Cited by 629
Neural correlates of interindividual differences in the subjective experience of pain
Coghill, R. C., McHaffie, J. G., & Yen, Y.-F. (2003) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1430684100 · Cited by 601
Self-citationBrain gray matter decrease in chronic pain is the consequence and not the cause of pain
Rodriguez-Raecke, R., Niemeier, A., Ihle, K., Ruether, W., & May, A. (2009) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.3687-09.2009 · Cited by 527
Cerebral mechanisms of hypnotic induction and suggestion
Rainville, P., Hofbauer, R. K., Paus, T., Duncan, G. H., Bushnell, M. C., & Price, D. D. (1999) · Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience · doi:10.1162/089892999563175 · Cited by 468
Cabeza, R. E. L., Dolcos, F., Graham, R., & Nyberg, L. H. (2002) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1006/nimg.2002.1063 · Cited by 466
Training-induced structural changes in the adult human brain
Draganski, B., & May, A. (2008) · Behavioural Brain Research · doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2008.02.015 · Cited by 437
Mind wandering away from pain dynamically engages antinociceptive and default mode brain networks
Kucyi, A., Salomons, T. V., & Davis, K. D. (2013) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1312902110 · Cited by 427
Functional MRI of Pain- and Attention-Related Activations in the Human Cingulate Cortex
Davis, K. D., Taylor, S. J., Crawley, A. P., Wood, M. L., & Mikulis, D. J. (1997) · Journal of Neurophysiology · doi:10.1152/jn.1997.77.6.3370 · Cited by 426
Neural mechanisms of top-down control during spatial and feature attention
Giesbrecht, B., Woldorff, M. G., Song, A. W., & Mangun, G. R. (2003) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/s1053-8119(03)00162-9 · Cited by 391
Gwilym, S. E., Filippini, N., Douaud, G., Carr, A. J., & Tracey, I. (2010) · Arthritis & Rheumatism · doi:10.1002/art.27585 · Cited by 302
Grant, J. A., Courtemanche, J., & Rainville, P. (2011) · Pain · doi:10.1016/j.pain.2010.10.006 · Cited by 297
Generation of neuronal variability and complexity
Muotri, A. R., & Gage, F. H. (2006) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature04959 · Cited by 271
Temporal and Intensity Coding of Pain in Human Cortex
Porro, C. A., Cettolo, V., Francescato, M. P., & Baraldi, P. (1998) · Journal of Neurophysiology · doi:10.1152/jn.1998.80.6.3312 · Cited by 259
Exploring the brain in pain: Activations, deactivations and their relation
Kong, J., Loggia, M. L., Zyloney, C. E., Tu, P., LaViolette, P. S., & Gollub, R. L. (2009) · Pain · doi:10.1016/j.pain.2009.11.008 · Cited by 254
Individual Differences in the Subjective Experience of Pain: New Insights Into Mechanisms and Models
Coghill, R. C. (2010) · Headache The Journal of Head and Face Pain · doi:10.1111/j.1526-4610.2010.01763.x · Cited by 216
Self-citationReproducibility of pain measurement and pain perception
Rosier, E. M., Iadarola, M. J., & Coghill, R. C. (2002) · Pain · doi:10.1016/s0304-3959(02)00048-9 · Cited by 216
Self-citationChanges in brain gray matter due to repetitive painful stimulation
Teutsch, S., Herken, W., Bingel, U., Schoell, E. D., & May, A. (2008) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2008.05.044 · Cited by 202
Younger, J., Shen, Y. F., Goddard, G., & Mackey, S. (2010) · Pain · doi:10.1016/j.pain.2010.01.006 · Cited by 193
Chee, M. W. L., Zheng, H., Goh, J. O. S., Park, D. C., & Sutton, B. P. (2010) · Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience · doi:10.1162/jocn.2010.21513 · Cited by 183
Progress in Genetic Studies of Pain and Analgesia
Lacroix-Fralish, M., & Mogil, J. (2009) · Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology · doi:10.1146/annurev-pharmtox-061008-103222 · Cited by 181
Chronic pain: lost inhibition?
Henderson, L. A., Peck, C. C., Petersen, E. T., Rae, C. D., Youssef, A. M., Reeves, J. M., Wilcox, S. L., Akhter, R., Murray, G. M., & Gustin, S. M. (2013) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.0174-13.2013 · Cited by 180
Westlye, L. T., Grydeland, H., Walhovd, K. B., & Fjell, A. M. (2010) · Cerebral Cortex · doi:10.1093/cercor/bhq101 · Cited by 180
Pain enhances functional connectivity of a brain network evoked by performance of a cognitive task
Seminowicz, D. A., & Davis, K. D. (2007) · Journal of Neurophysiology · doi:10.1152/jn.01210.2006 · Cited by 179
Starr, C. J., Sawaki, L. A., Wittenberg, G. F., Burdette, J. H., Oshiro, Y., de Quevedo, A. S., McHaffie, J. G., & Coghill, R. C. (2011) · Brain · doi:10.1093/brain/awr117 · Cited by 161
Self-citationSupramodal Effects of Covert Spatial Orienting Triggered by Visual or Tactile Events
Macaluso, E., Frith, C. D., & Driver, J. (2002) · Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience · doi:10.1162/089892902317361912 · Cited by 151
Brain networks of bottom-up triggered and top-down controlled shifting of auditory attention
Salmi, J., Rinne, T., Koistinen, S., Salonen, O. L. M., & Alho, K. (2009) · Brain Research · doi:10.1016/j.brainres.2009.06.083 · Cited by 144
Cortical thickness correlates of pain and temperature sensitivity
Erpelding, N., Moayedi, M., & Davis, K. D. (2012) · Pain · doi:10.1016/j.pain.2012.03.012 · Cited by 134
Brain Mechanisms Supporting Spatial Discrimination of Pain
Oshiro, Y., Quevedo, A. S., McHaffie, J. G., Kraft, R. A., & Coghill, R. C. (2007) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.5128-06.2007 · Cited by 128
Self-citationBrain functional and anatomical changes in chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome
Farmer, M. A., Chanda, M. L., Parks, E. L., Baliki, M. N., Apkarian, A. V., & Schaeffer, A. J. (2011) · Journal of Urology · doi:10.1016/j.juro.2011.03.027 · Cited by 126
Erpelding, N., & Davis, K. D. (2013) · Pain · doi:10.1016/j.pain.2013.06.030 · Cited by 91
Abnormal gray matter aging in chronic pain patients
Moayedi, M., Weissman‐Fogel, I., Salomons, T. V., Crawley, A. P., Goldberg, M. B., Freeman, B. V., Tenenbaum, H. C., & Davis, K. D. (2012) · Brain Research · doi:10.1016/j.brainres.2012.03.040 · Cited by 87
Self-citationLong-term effects of neonatal surgery on adulthood pain behavior
Sternberg, W. F., Scorr, L., Smith, L. D., Ridgway, C. G., & Stout, M. J. (2004) · Pain · doi:10.1016/j.pain.2004.11.013 · Cited by 81
Frontoparietal mechanisms supporting attention to location and intensity of painful stimuli
Lobanov, O. V., Quevedo, A. S., Hadsel, M. S., Kraft, R. A., & Coghill, R. C. (2013) · Pain · doi:10.1016/j.pain.2013.05.030 · Cited by 65
Self-citationIndividual Differences in Pain Sensitivity: Implications for Treatment Decisions
Coghill, R. C., & Eisenach, J. C. (2003) · Anesthesiology · doi:10.1097/00000542-200306000-00003 · Cited by 56
Self-citationAltered Regional Brain Morphology in Patients With Chronic Facial Pain
Schmidt‐Wilcke, T., Hierlmeier, S., & Leinisch, E. (2010) · Headache The Journal of Head and Face Pain · doi:10.1111/j.1526-4610.2010.01637.x · Cited by 56
Muralidharan, A., & Smith, M. T. (2011) · Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology · doi:10.1111/j.2042-7158.2011.01340.x · Cited by 52
From cue to meaning: Brain mechanisms supporting the construction of expectations of pain
Lobanov, O. V., Zeidan, F., McHaffie, J. G., Kraft, R. A., & Coghill, R. C. (2014) · Pain · doi:10.1016/j.pain.2013.09.014 · Cited by 38
Self-citationPsychological and Sensory Predictors of Experimental Thermal Pain: A Multifactorial Model
Starr, C. J., Houle, T. T., & Coghill, R. C. (2010) · Journal of Pain · doi:10.1016/j.jpain.2010.03.014 · Cited by 28
Self-citation
Research works printed but not linked: 2
- Hadsel, 2006, FMRI studies of pain: not all baseline periods are equal., Soc Neurosci Abstr, 32, 14
- Martucci, 2006, A new spin on chronic pain imaging: quantitative perfusion imaging using arterial spin labeling MRI., Soc Neurosci Abstr, 32, 22
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Individual differences in pain: understanding the mosaic that makes pain personal
Fillingim, R. B. (2016) · Pain · doi:10.1097/j.pain.0000000000000775 · Cited by 758
Kucyi, A., & Davis, K. D. (2015) · Trends in Neurosciences · doi:10.1016/j.tins.2014.11.006 · Cited by 587
Assessment of Chronic Pain: Domains, Methods, and Mechanisms
Fillingim, R. B., Loeser, J. D., Baron, R., & Edwards, R. R. (2016) · Journal of Pain · doi:10.1016/j.jpain.2015.08.010 · Cited by 422
Locher, C., Nascimento, A. F., Kirsch, I., Kossowsky, J., Meyer, A. H., & Gaab, J. (2017) · Pain · doi:10.1097/j.pain.0000000000001012 · Cited by 190
McFarlin, B. K., Venable, A. S., Henning, A. L., Sampson, J. N. B., Pennel, K. A. F., Vingren, J. L., & Hill, D. W. (2016) · BBA Clinical · doi:10.1016/j.bbacli.2016.02.003 · Cited by 165
Metadata
- Authors
- Emerson, N. M., Zeidan, F., Lobanov, O. V., Hadsel, M. S., Martucci, K. T., Quevedo, A. S., Starr, C. J., Nahman-Averbuch, H., Weissman-Fogel, I., Granovsky, Y., Yarnitsky, D., & Coghill, R. C.
- Affiliations
- Technion – Israel Institute of Technology (IL)
- Wake Forest University Health Sciences (US)
- Corresponding author
- Coghill, Robert C.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Pain
- Published
- 2014-03
- Volume
- 155
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 566-573
- ISSN
- 0304-3959 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC3944887
- OpenAlex
- W2039104311
- Cited by
- 121
- References
- 66
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 10
- FWCI
- 6.50
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Pain (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- Israel Science Foundation
- National Institutes of Health
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01DA020168, DA020168)
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NS039426, R01NS039426)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology (medical) › Pain Mechanisms and Treatments
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Pain Management and Placebo Effect
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine › Pain Management and Treatment
- Keywords
- pain sensitivity, individual differences, gray matter density, thermal pain, posterior cingulate cortex, precuneus, intraparietal sulcus, inferior parietal lobule, primary somatosensory cortex, default mode network, attention, somatosensory processing, brain structure
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Aged, Cerebral Cortex, Female, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Middle Aged, Organ Size, Pain, Retrospective Studies, Databases, Factual, Pain Threshold, Young Adult
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
