title: Experimental pain in the gingiva and its impact on prefrontal cortical hemodynamics: a functional near-infrared spectroscopy study.
abstract: Evaluating alterations in brain activity in response to pain stimulus can help understand the mechanisms underlying pain perception. We measured oxygenated hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) levels using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in order to assess prefrontal cortex activation after inducing a pain stimulus to the gingiva. Twenty-three right-handed, healthy male subjects (mean age: 29.3±3.6 years) were subjected to a mild pain stimulus to the tissue around the right maxillary central incisor. The periodontal pain stimulus (PPS) was elicited from a pocket probe, and a multi-channel fNIRS system with its accompanying 22-channel probes was used for measuring oxy-Hb levels. Mean oxy-Hb levels for each channel were calculated on the basis of values obtained at rest and during the PPS load, for 1min each. The change in oxy-Hb level was calculated by subtracting oxy-Hb at rest from oxy-Hb levels during PPS load. Oxy-Hb levels in each channel during both conditions were then compared using the paired t-test and Bonferroni correction. Pain stimulation caused oxy-Hb levels to decrease in virtually all areas of the prefrontal cortex, particularly, in the superior frontal gyrus, the middle frontal gyrus, and the orbital part of the superior, middle, and inferior frontal gyrus, on the brain side contralateral to the pain load. This measurement could prove beneficial as an index for objective pain evaluation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Fixed Prosthodontics, School of Dentistry, Aichi Gakuin University, 2-11 Suemori-dori, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan. Electronic address: sakuma@dpc.agu.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Shigemitsu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sakuma
authors.affiliation: Department of Endodontics, School of Dentistry, Aichi Gakuin University, 2-11 Suemori-dori, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.
authors.forename: Kyoko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Inamoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Endodontics, School of Dentistry, Aichi Gakuin University, 2-11 Suemori-dori, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.
authors.forename: Naoya
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Higuchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, School of Dentistry, Aichi Gakuin University, 2-11 Suemori-dori, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ariji
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, School of Dentistry, Aichi Gakuin University, 2-11 Suemori-dori, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.
authors.forename: Miwa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakayama
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, School of Dentistry, Aichi Gakuin University, 2-11 Suemori-dori, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Izumi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005881:Gingiva / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006439:Hemodynamics; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010108:Oxyhemoglobins / Q000032:analysis; D010146:Pain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000098:blood supply*; D019265:Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared
chemical_list: D010108:Oxyhemoglobins
keywords: Functional near-infrared spectroscopy; Oxygenated hemoglobin; Pain evaluation; Periodontal pain stimulus; Prefrontal cortex