Journal Article

Common and distinct neural representations of aversive somatic and visceral stimulation in healthy individuals

Ly, Huynh Giao, Van Oudenhove, Lukas, Wager, Tor D., Fukudo, Shin, Kragel, Philip A., Kano, Michiko, Aziz, Qasim, Tack, Jan, Pazmany, Els, Rubio, Amandine, Enzlin, Paul, Dupont, Patrick, Delon-Martin, Chantal, Bonaz, Bruno

2020

Overview

Different pain types may be encoded in different brain circuits. Here, we examine similarities and differences in brain processing of visceral and somatic pain. We analyze data from seven fMRI studies ( N  = 165) and five types of pain and discomfort (esophageal, gastric, and rectal distension, cutaneous thermal stimulation, and vulvar pressure) to establish and validate generalizable pain representations. We first evaluate an established multivariate brain measure, the Neurologic Pain Signature (NPS), as a common nociceptive pain system across pain types. Then, we develop a multivariate classifier to distinguish visceral from somatic pain. The NPS responds robustly in 98% of participants across pain types, correlates with perceived intensity of visceral pain and discomfort, and shows specificity to pain when compared with cognitive and affective conditions from twelve additional studies ( N  = 180). Pre-defined signatures for non-pain negative affect do not respond to visceral pain. The visceral versus the somatic classifier reliably distinguishes somatic (thermal) from visceral (rectal) stimulation in both cross-validation and independent cohorts. Other pain types reflect mixtures of somatic and visceral patterns. These results validate the NPS as measuring a common core nociceptive pain system across pain types, and provide a new classifier for visceral versus somatic pain. Whether the brain processes different types of pain similarly or differently remains unknown. The authors show that an established neurologic pain signature responds to five different types of visceral and somatic pain; they also develop a new classifier that reliably discriminates between both pain modalities.

• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group UK,Nature Publishing Group,Nature Portfolio
• Subject: 59/36 / 631/378/2620/410 / 631/477/2811 / Adult / Affect - physiology / Brain / Brain - diagnostic imaging / Brain - physiology / Brain Mapping / Classifiers / Cognition - physiology / Cognitive ability / Diagnosis, Differential / Discomfort / Distension / Emotions / Esophagus / Female / Functional magnetic resonance imaging / Healthy Volunteers / Humanities and Social Sciences / Humans / Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Life Sciences / Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Male / multidisciplinary / Multivariate analysis / Nerve Net - physiology / Neurons and Cognition / Nociceptive Pain - diagnostic imaging / Nociceptive Pain - physiopathology / Pain / Pain perception / Rectum / Representations / Science / Science (multidisciplinary) / Stimulation / Visceral Pain - diagnostic imaging / Visceral Pain - physiopathology