title: Aversive faces activate pain responsive regions in the brain.
abstract: Recent evidence points to an overlap in the neural systems processing pain and social distress. In this functional MRI study we focus on the possible interplay between the processing of a psychosocial stressor and somatic pain within pain responsive brain regions, the latter being identified in an independent localizer experiment. A paradigm based on emotional induction (Hariri et al., 2000, Neuroreport 11(1):43-48) was combined with moderate heat pain to yield a factorial design with factor 'pain' as somatic stressor and factor 'faces' as nonpainful psychosocial stressor. Pain responsive regions of interest in the insula, SII cortex, and thalamus were activated by the factor 'faces' to a various extent. The hemodynamic response to both factors tends to aggregate in a compressive manner in these regions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Regensburg, Germany. heckelandreas@googlemail.com
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Heckel
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rothmayr
authors.forename: Katharina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rosengarth
authors.forename: Göran
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hajak
authors.forename: Mark W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Greenlee
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Eichhammer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology; D005149:Facial Expression; D005260:Female; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D016014:Linear Models; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D015233:Models, Statistical; D010146:Pain / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D012931:Social Environment; D055815:Young Adult