Arthritic pain is processed in brain areas concerned with emotions and fear.
Authors
Kulkarni, BhavnaBentley, D E
Elliott, R
Julyan, Peter J
Boger, E
Watson, A
Boyle, Y
El-Deredy, W
Jones, Anthony K P
Affiliation
Human Pain Research Group, University of Manchester Rheumatic Diseases Centre, Hope Hospital, Salford, UK. bhavna.kulkarni@manchester.ac.ukIssue Date
2007-04
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Show full item recordAbstract
OBJECTIVE: Functional neuroimaging studies have shown that experimentally induced acute pain is processed within at least 2 parallel networks of brain structures collectively known as the pain matrix. The relevance of this finding to clinical pain is not known, because no direct comparisons of experimental and clinical pain have been performed in the same group of patients. The aim of this study was to compare directly the brain areas involved in processing arthritic pain and experimental pain in a group of patients with osteoarthritis (OA). METHODS: Twelve patients with knee OA underwent positron emission tomography of the brain, using (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG). Scanning was performed during 3 different pain states: arthritic knee pain, experimental knee pain, and pain-free. Significant differences in the neuronal uptake of FDG between different pain states were investigated using statistical parametric mapping software. RESULTS: Both pain conditions activated the pain matrix, but arthritic pain was associated with increased activity in the cingulate cortex, the thalamus, and the amygdala; these areas are involved in the processing of fear, emotions, and in aversive conditioning. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that studies of experimental pain provide a relevant but quantitatively incomplete picture of brain activity during arthritic pain. The search for new analgesics for arthritis that act on the brain should focus on drugs that modify this circuitry.Citation
Arthritic pain is processed in brain areas concerned with emotions and fear. 2007, 56 (4):1345-54 Arthritis Rheum.Journal
Arthritis and RheumatismDOI
10.1002/art.22460PubMed ID
17393440Type
ArticleLanguage
enISSN
0004-3591ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1002/art.22460
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