Abstract
The aim of this study was to compare behavioral and functional brain responses to the act of inserting needles into the body in two different contexts, treatment and stimulation, and to determine whether the behavioral and functional brain responses to a subsequent pain stimulus were also context dependent. Twenty-four participants were randomly divided into two groups: an acupuncture treatment (AT) group and an acupuncture stimulation (AS) group. Each participant received three different types of stimuli, consisting of tactile, acupuncture, and pain stimuli, and was given behavioral assessments during fMRI scanning. Although the applied stimuli were physically identical in both groups, the verbal instructions differed: participants in the AS group were primed to consider the acupuncture as a painful stimulus, whereas the participants in the AT group were told that the acupuncture was part of therapeutic treatment. Acupuncture yielded greater brain activation in reward-related brain areas (ventral striatum) of the brain in the AT group when compared to the AS group. Brain activation in response to pain stimuli was significantly attenuated in the bilateral secondary somatosensory cortex and the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex after prior acupuncture needle stimulation in the AT group but not in the AS group. Inserting needles into the body in the context of treatment activated reward circuitries in the brain and modulated pain responses in the pain matrix. Our findings suggest that pain induced by therapeutic tools in the context of a treatment is modulated differently in the brain, demonstrating the power of context in medical practice.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 148-155 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Physiology and Behavior |
| Volume | 140 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2015 |
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Keywords
- Acupuncture
- Context
- fMRI
- Pain
- Reward
- Therapeutic tool
- Ventral striatum
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Behavioral Neuroscience
- Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
- Philosophy
- Medicine(all)
Cite this
When pain is not only pain : Inserting needles into the body evokes distinct reward-related brain responses in the context of a treatment. / Lee, In Seon; Wallraven, Christian; Kong, Jian; Chang, Dong Seon; Lee, Hyejung; Park, Hi Joon; Chae, Younbyoung.
In: Physiology and Behavior, Vol. 140, 2015, p. 148-155.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - When pain is not only pain
T2 - Inserting needles into the body evokes distinct reward-related brain responses in the context of a treatment
AU - Lee, In Seon
AU - Wallraven, Christian
AU - Kong, Jian
AU - Chang, Dong Seon
AU - Lee, Hyejung
AU - Park, Hi Joon
AU - Chae, Younbyoung
PY - 2015
Y1 - 2015
N2 - The aim of this study was to compare behavioral and functional brain responses to the act of inserting needles into the body in two different contexts, treatment and stimulation, and to determine whether the behavioral and functional brain responses to a subsequent pain stimulus were also context dependent. Twenty-four participants were randomly divided into two groups: an acupuncture treatment (AT) group and an acupuncture stimulation (AS) group. Each participant received three different types of stimuli, consisting of tactile, acupuncture, and pain stimuli, and was given behavioral assessments during fMRI scanning. Although the applied stimuli were physically identical in both groups, the verbal instructions differed: participants in the AS group were primed to consider the acupuncture as a painful stimulus, whereas the participants in the AT group were told that the acupuncture was part of therapeutic treatment. Acupuncture yielded greater brain activation in reward-related brain areas (ventral striatum) of the brain in the AT group when compared to the AS group. Brain activation in response to pain stimuli was significantly attenuated in the bilateral secondary somatosensory cortex and the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex after prior acupuncture needle stimulation in the AT group but not in the AS group. Inserting needles into the body in the context of treatment activated reward circuitries in the brain and modulated pain responses in the pain matrix. Our findings suggest that pain induced by therapeutic tools in the context of a treatment is modulated differently in the brain, demonstrating the power of context in medical practice.
AB - The aim of this study was to compare behavioral and functional brain responses to the act of inserting needles into the body in two different contexts, treatment and stimulation, and to determine whether the behavioral and functional brain responses to a subsequent pain stimulus were also context dependent. Twenty-four participants were randomly divided into two groups: an acupuncture treatment (AT) group and an acupuncture stimulation (AS) group. Each participant received three different types of stimuli, consisting of tactile, acupuncture, and pain stimuli, and was given behavioral assessments during fMRI scanning. Although the applied stimuli were physically identical in both groups, the verbal instructions differed: participants in the AS group were primed to consider the acupuncture as a painful stimulus, whereas the participants in the AT group were told that the acupuncture was part of therapeutic treatment. Acupuncture yielded greater brain activation in reward-related brain areas (ventral striatum) of the brain in the AT group when compared to the AS group. Brain activation in response to pain stimuli was significantly attenuated in the bilateral secondary somatosensory cortex and the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex after prior acupuncture needle stimulation in the AT group but not in the AS group. Inserting needles into the body in the context of treatment activated reward circuitries in the brain and modulated pain responses in the pain matrix. Our findings suggest that pain induced by therapeutic tools in the context of a treatment is modulated differently in the brain, demonstrating the power of context in medical practice.
KW - Acupuncture
KW - Context
KW - fMRI
KW - Pain
KW - Reward
KW - Therapeutic tool
KW - Ventral striatum
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84952951574&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84952951574&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.physbeh.2014.12.030
DO - 10.1016/j.physbeh.2014.12.030
M3 - Article
C2 - 25528104
AN - SCOPUS:84952951574
VL - 140
SP - 148
EP - 155
JO - Physiology and Behavior
JF - Physiology and Behavior
SN - 0031-9384
ER -