title: The human amygdala and pain: evidence from neuroimaging.
abstract: The amygdala, a small deep brain structure involved in behavioral processing through interactions with other brain regions, has garnered increased attention in recent years in relation to pain processing. As pain is a multidimensional experience that encompasses physical sensation, affect, and cognition, the amygdala is well suited to play a part in this process. Multiple neuroimaging studies of pain in humans have reported activation in the amygdala. Here, we summarize these studies by performing a coordinate-based meta-analysis within experimentally induced and clinical pain studies using an activation likelihood estimate analysis. The results are presented in relation to locations of peak activation within and outside of amygdala subregions. The majority of studies identified coordinates consistent with human amygdala cytoarchitecture indicating reproducibility in neuroanatomical labeling across labs, analysis methods, and imaging modalities. Differences were noted between healthy and clinical pain studies: in clinical pain studies, peak activation was located in the laterobasal region, suggestive of the cognitive-affective overlay present among individuals suffering from chronic pain; while the less understood superficial region of the amygdala was prominent among experimental pain studies. Taken together, these findings suggest several important directions for further research exploring the amygdala's role in pain processing.
authors.affiliation: P.A.I.N. Group, Boston Children's Hospital, Center for Pain and the Brain, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Division of Pain Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Laura E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Simons
authors.forename: Eric A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Moulton
authors.forename: Clas
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Linnman
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Carpino
authors.forename: Lino
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Becerra
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Borsook
mesh_terms: D000679:Amygdala / Q000098:blood supply / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008297:Male; D015201:Meta-Analysis as Topic; D059906:Neuroimaging; D010146:Pain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging
keywords: PET; chronic pain; experimental pain; fMRI; meta-analysis