title: [Event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging of cerebral pain processing].
abstract: Neurofunctional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) offers the possibility to map cerebral activity non-invasively. The development of event-related techniques during the past years allows to study brain processes with high spatial and temporal resolution. Based on these techniques, EPI- and FLASH sequences were developed in this study, to investigate cerebral processing of experimental thermal pain stimulation. Phasic and tonic stimulation paradigms were developed with an MR-compatible contact thermode. Functional mapping of pain-relevant areas was performed with these paradigms, as well as a specification of the temporal characteristics of the activation. Further, a randomized paradigm with several stimulus intensities could differentiate graded functional responses, dependent on stimulus intensity in specific "regions-of-interest". In this design, randomizing the stimulus order reduced habituation effects, while continuous subjective magnitude estimation of the stimuli kept attention of subjects maximal.
authors.affiliation: Abt. Biophysik und Medizinische Strahlenphysik, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum Heidelberg.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kleinböhl
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Baudendistel
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bock
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Trojan
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rabuffetti-Lehle
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hölzl
authors.forename: L R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Schad
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods*; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D010146:Pain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity