Diffuse optical tomography of pain and tactile stimulation: Activation in cortical sensory and emotional systems

Using diffuse optical tomography (DOT), we detected activation in the somatosensory cortex and frontal brain areas following tactile (brush) and noxious heat stimulation. Healthy volunteers received stimulation to the dorsum of the right hand. In the somatosensory cortex area, tactile stimulation pr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:NeuroImage (Orlando, Fla.) Fla.), 2008-06, Vol.41 (2), p.252-259
Main Authors: Becerra, L., Harris, W., Joseph, D., Huppert, T., Boas, D.A., Borsook, D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Bilateral activation
Brain
Brain Mapping - methods
Deoxyhemoglobin
Emotions
Experiments
Human
Humans
Male
Medical imaging
Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS)
Oxyhemoglobin
Pain
Prefrontal Cortex - physiology
Somatosensory cortex
Somatosensory Cortex - physiology
Studies
Tomography
Tomography, Optical
Touch - physiology
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Summary:Using diffuse optical tomography (DOT), we detected activation in the somatosensory cortex and frontal brain areas following tactile (brush) and noxious heat stimulation. Healthy volunteers received stimulation to the dorsum of the right hand. In the somatosensory cortex area, tactile stimulation produced a robust, contralateral to the stimulus, hemodynamic response with a weaker activation on the ipsilateral side. For the same region, noxious thermal stimuli produced bilateral activation of similar intensity that had a prolonged activation with a double peak similar to results that have been reported with functional MRI. Bilateral activation was observed in the frontal areas, oxyhemoglobin changes were positive for brush stimulation while they were initially negative (contralateral) for heat stimulation. These results suggest that based on the temporal and spatial characteristics of the response in the sensory cortex, it is possible to discern painful from mechanical stimulation using DOT. Such ability might have potential applications in a clinical setting in which pain needs to be assessed objectively (e.g., analgesic efficacy, pain responses during surgery).
ISSN:1053-8119
1095-9572
DOI:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2008.01.047