Cited by 337Pain Mechanisms and TreatmentsPain Management and Placebo EffectPain Management and Treatment

Attention to pain localization and unpleasantness discriminates the functions of the medial and lateral pain systems.

Kulkarni, B., Bentley, D. E., Elliott, R., Youell, P., Watson, A., Derbyshire, S. W. G., Frackowiak, R. S. J., Friston, K. J. +1 more·2005·European Journal of Neuroscience

Abstract

Functional imaging studies have identified a matrix of structures in the brain that respond to noxious stimuli. Within this matrix, a division of function between sensory-discriminative and affective responses has so far been demonstrated by manipulating either pain intensity or unpleasantness under hypnosis in two different normal volunteer groups studied on separate occasions. Our study used positron emission tomography (PET) to demonstrate this division of function under more natural conditions in a healthy group of volunteers, using a CO(2) laser to provide nociceptive stimuli that selectively activate A-delta and C-fibres without contamination by touch sensations. We measured the differential cerebral responses to noxious and innocuous laser stimuli during conditions of selective attention to either the unpleasantness or location of the stimuli. Attention to location increased responses in the contralateral (right) primary somatosensory and inferior parietal cortices. This result implies that these components of the lateral pain system are concerned mainly with the localization of pain. In contrast, attention to unpleasantness increased responses in bilateral perigenual cingulate and orbitofrontal cortices, contralateral (right) amygdala, ipsilateral (left) hypothalamus, posterior insula, M1 and frontal pole. These areas comprise key components of the medial pain and neuroendocrine systems and the results suggest that they have a role in the affective response to pain. Our results indicate the importance of attentional effects on the pattern of nociceptive processing in the brain. They also provide the first clear demonstration, within a single experiment, of a major division of function within the neural pain matrix.

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Crossref · 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2005.04098.x

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Authors
Kulkarni, B., Bentley, D. E., Elliott, R., Youell, P., Watson, A., Derbyshire, S. W. G., Frackowiak, R. S. J., Friston, K. J., & Jones, A. K. P.
Affiliations
  • Salford Royal Hospital (GB)
  • University of Manchester (GB)
  • University of Pittsburgh (US)
  • National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (GB)
Corresponding author
Kulkarni, B.
Venue
European Journal of Neuroscience
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2005-06
Volume
21
Issue
11
Pages
3133-3142
ISSN
  • 0953-816X (ISSN-L)
  • 1460-9568
OpenAlex
W2016341768
Cited by
337
References
90
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 27 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 22 · 2019: 20 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 24 · 2016: 17 · 2015: 16 · 2014: 16 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 15
FWCI
8.79
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • European Journal of Neuroscience (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
  • University of Birmingham Research Portal (University of Birmingham) (submittedVersion)
  • Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) (submittedVersion)
Funders
Wellcome Trust
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › 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 localization, pain unpleasantness, attentional modulation of pain, nociceptive processing, primary somatosensory cortex, inferior parietal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, amygdala, hypothalamus, posterior insula
MeSH terms
Adult, Afferent Pathways, Attention, Brain, Brain Mapping, Emotions, Humans, Functional Laterality, Limbic System, Male, Nerve Fibers, Myelinated, Neurosecretory Systems, Nociceptors, Pain, Physical Stimulation, Somatosensory Cortex, Nerve Fibers, Unmyelinated, Positron-Emission Tomography

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