Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Volume 107, Issue 1, Pages 355-360Publisher
NATL ACAD SCIENCES
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0906186106
Keywords
functional MRI; personality; susceptibility; insular cortex; brainstem
Categories
Funding
- Feodor Lynen Research Fellowship
- Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
- MRC [G0700399, G0601340] Funding Source: UKRI
- Medical Research Council [G0700399, G0601340] Funding Source: researchfish
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Pain is a highly subjective experience that can be substantially influenced by differences in individual susceptibility as well as personality. How susceptibility to pain and personality translate to brain activity is largely unknown. Here, we report that the functional connectivity of two key brain areas before a sensory event reflects the susceptibility to a subsequent noxious stimulus being perceived as painful. Specifically, the prestimulus connectivity among brain areas related to the subjective perception of the body and to the modulation of pain (anterior insular cortex and brainstem, respectively) determines whether a noxious event is perceived as painful. Further, these effects of prestimulus connectivity on pain perception covary with pain-relevant personality traits. More anxious and pain-attentive individuals display weaker descending connectivity to pain modulatory brain areas. We conclude that variations in functional connectivity underlie personality-related differences in individual susceptibility to pain.
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