Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
6
pubmed:dateCreated
2001-1-9
pubmed:abstractText
The purpose of this study was to investigate cortical processing of painful compared with tactile mechanical stimulation by means of magnetoencephalography (MEG) using the novel technique of mechanical impact loading. A light, hard projectile is accelerated pneumatically in a guiding barrel and elicits a brief sensation of pain when hitting the skin in free flight. Controllable noxious and innocuous impact velocities facilitate the generation of different, predetermined stimulus intensities. The authors applied painful as well as tactile mechanical impacts to the dorsum of the second, third, and fourth digit of the nondominant hand. Pain-related somatosensory evoked magnetic fields (SSEFs) were compared with those following tactile stimulation in seven healthy volunteers. Contralateral primary sensory cortical area activation was observed within the first 70 msec after tactile as well as painful stimulus intensities. Only painful impacts elicited SSEF responses assigned to the bilateral secondary sensory cortical regions and to the middle part of the contralateral cingulate gyrus, which were active at latency ranges of 55 to 155 msec and 90 to 220 msec respectively. Additional long-latency responses occurred in these cortical areas as long as 280 msec after painful stimulation in three subjects. In contrast to tactile stimulation, painful mechanical impacts elicited SSEF responses in cortical areas demonstrated to be involved in central pain processing by previous MEG and neuroimaging studies. Because of its similarity to natural noxious stimuli and the possibility of adjustable painful and tactile impact velocities, the technique of mechanical impact loading provides a useful method for the neurophysiologic evaluation of cortical pain perception.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Nov
pubmed:issn
0736-0258
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
17
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
613-22
pubmed:dateRevised
2004-11-17
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2000
pubmed:articleTitle
Pain-related somatosensory evoked magnetic fields induced by controlled ballistic mechanical impacts.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Neurology, University of Erlangen-Nuernberg, Germany. Katrin.Druschky@rzmail.uni-erlangen.de
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article