Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) Targeting Left Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Modulates Task-Induced Acute Pain in Healthy Volunteers
Abstract
Current chronic pain treatments target nociception rather than affective "suffering" and its associated functional and psychiatric comorbidities. The left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) has been implicated in affective, cognitive, and attentional aspects of pain and is a primary target of neuromodulation for affective disorders. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can non-invasively modulate cortical activity. The present study tests whether anodal tDCS targeting the left DLPFC will increase tolerability of acute painful stimuli vs cathodal tDCS. Forty tDCS-naive healthy volunteers received anodal and cathodal stimulation targeting the left DLPFC in two randomized and counterbalanced sessions. During stimulation, each participant performed cold pressor (CP) and breath holding (BH) tasks. We measured pain intensity with the Defense and Veterans Pain Rating Scale (DVPRS) before and after each task. Mixed ANOVA revealed no main effect of stimulation polarity for mean CP threshold, tolerance, or endurance, or mean BH time (allP > 0.27). However, DVPRS rise associated with CP was significantly smaller with anodal vs cathodal tDCS (P = 0.024). We further observed a significant tDCS polarity × stimulation order inte...Continue Reading
References
Transcranial direct current stimulation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex increased pain empathy
Citations
Related Concepts
Related Feeds
Acute viral rhinopharyngitis
Acute viral rhinopharyngitis, also known as "common cold", is an acute, self-limiting viral infection of the upper respiratory tract involving the nose, sinuses, pharynx and larynx. Discover the latest research on acute viral rhinopharyngitis here.
Birth Defects
Birth defects encompass structural and functional alterations that occur during embryonic or fetal development and are present since birth. The cause may be genetic, environmental or unknown and can result in physical and/or mental impairment. Here is the latest research on birth defects.