title: Neural Activation during Anticipation of Near Pain-Threshold Stimulation among the Pain-Fearful.
abstract: Fear of pain (FOP) can increase risk for chronic pain and disability but little is known about corresponding neural responses in anticipation of potential pain. In this study, more (10 women, 6 men) and less (7 women, 6 men) pain-fearful groups underwent whole-brain functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during anticipation of near pain-threshold stimulation. Groups did not differ in the proportion of stimuli judged to be painful but pain-fearful participants reported significantly more state fear prior to stimulus exposure. Within the entire sample, stronger activation was found in several pain perception regions (e.g., bilateral insula, midcingulate cortex (MCC), thalamus, superior frontal gyrus) and visual areas linked to decoding stimulus valences (inferior orbital cortex) during anticipation of "painful" stimuli. Between groups and correlation analyses indicated pain-fearful participants experienced comparatively more activity in regions implicated in evaluating potential threats and processing negative emotions during anticipation (i.e., MCC, mid occipital cortex, superior temporal pole), though group differences were not apparent in most so-called "pain matrix" regions. In sum, trait- and task-based FOP is associated with enhanced responsiveness in regions involved in threat processing and negative affect during anticipation of potentially painful stimulation.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, China Education Ministry, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest UniversityChongqing, China; Department of Chemistry, Southwest UniversityChongqing, China.
authors.forename: Zhou
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, China Education Ministry, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest UniversityChongqing, China; Department of Psychology, University of MacauMacau, China.
authors.forename: Todd
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jackson
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Southwest University Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Chengzhi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Huang
keywords: fear of pain; functional neuroimaging; midcingulate cortex; pain anticipation; pain intensity