Predictive coding models  for pain perception

Song, Yuru; Yao, Mingchen; Kemprecos, Helen; Byrne, Áine; Xiao, Zhengdong; Zhang, Qiaosheng; Singh, Amrita; Wang, Jing; Chen, Zhe‐Sheng

doi:10.1007/s10827-021-00780-x

Cited by 22 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 71 publications

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“…Our findings should thus not discourage the application of predictive coding frameworks to the processing of pain but rather encourage the search for brain features—other than the commonly analyzed EEG responses—that signal predictions and PEs in the processing of pain. Such future approaches might build upon recent predictive coding models for nociceptive processing in animals ( 61 ) and for the perception of stimuli from other modalities in humans ( 40 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal–spectral signaling of sensory information and expectations in the cerebral processing of pain

Nickel

Tiemann

Hohn

et al. 2021

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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The perception of pain is shaped by somatosensory information about threat. However, pain is also influenced by an individual’s expectations. Such expectations can result in clinically relevant modulations and abnormalities of pain. In the brain, sensory information, expectations (predictions), and discrepancies thereof (prediction errors) are signaled by an extended network of brain areas which generate evoked potentials and oscillatory responses at different latencies and frequencies. However, a comprehensive picture of how evoked and oscillatory brain responses signal sensory information, predictions, and prediction errors in the processing of pain is lacking so far. Here, we therefore applied brief painful stimuli to 48 healthy human participants and independently modulated sensory information (stimulus intensity) and expectations of pain intensity while measuring brain activity using electroencephalography (EEG). Pain ratings confirmed that pain intensity was shaped by both sensory information and expectations. In contrast, Bayesian analyses revealed that stimulus-induced EEG responses at different latencies (the N1, N2, and P2 components) and frequencies (alpha, beta, and gamma oscillations) were shaped by sensory information but not by expectations. Expectations, however, shaped alpha and beta oscillations before the painful stimuli. These findings indicate that commonly analyzed EEG responses to painful stimuli are more involved in signaling sensory information than in signaling expectations or mismatches of sensory information and expectations. Moreover, they indicate that the effects of expectations on pain are served by brain mechanisms which differ from those conveying effects of sensory information on pain.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal–spectral signaling of sensory information and expectations in the cerebral processing of pain

Nickel

Tiemann

Hohn

et al. 2021

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…Frith and Friston ( 58 ) described a system in which expectations are integrated at different levels of the neuro-axis according to the a priori of the dominant levels. This model can be applied to many psychological effects and has recently been applied to embodied language theories ( 10 ) and pain perception and modulation ( 59 ). Based on this model, verbal suggestion biases perception in a top-down fashion.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Brain Responses to Hypnotic Verbal Suggestions Predict Pain Modulation

et al. 2021

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Background: The effectiveness of hypnosis in reducing pain is well supported by the scientific literature. Hypnosis typically involves verbal suggestions but the mechanisms by which verbal contents are transformed into predictive signals to modulate perceptual processes remain unclear. We hypothesized that brain activity during verbal suggestions would predict the modulation of responses to acute nociceptive stimuli.Methods: Brain activity was measured using BOLD-fMRI in healthy participants while they listened to verbal suggestions of HYPERALGESIA, HYPOALGESIA, or NORMAL sensation (control) following a standardized hypnosis induction. Immediately after the suggestions, series of noxious electrical stimuli were administered to assess pain-related responses. Brain responses measured during the suggestions were then used to predict changes in pain-related responses using delayed regression analyses.Results: Listening to suggestions of HYPERALGESIA and HYPOALGESIA produced BOLD decreases (vs. control) in the parietal operculum (PO) and in the anterior midcingulate cortex (aMCC), and increases in the left parahippocampal gyrus (lPHG). Changes in activity in PO, aMCC and PHG during the suggestions predicted larger pain-evoked responses following the HYPERALGESIA suggestions in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the anterior insula (aINS), and smaller pain-evoked responses following the HYPOALGESIA suggestions in the ACC, aMCC, posterior insula (pINS) and thalamus. These changes in pain-evoked brain responses are consistent with the changes in pain perception reported by the participants in HYPERALGESIA and HYPOALGESIA, respectively.Conclusions: The fronto-parietal network (supracallosal ACC and PO) has been associated with self-regulation and perceived self-agency. Deactivation of these regions during suggestions is predictive of the modulation of brain responses to noxious stimuli in areas previously associated with pain perception and pain modulation. The response of the hippocampal complex may reflect its role in contextual learning, memory and pain anticipation/expectations induced by verbal suggestions of pain modulation. This study provides a basis to further explore the transformation of verbal suggestions into perceptual modulatory processes fundamental to hypnosis neurophenomenology. These findings are discussed in relation to predictive coding models.

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“…An increase in the levels of proinflammatory cytokines [184,185] and a decrease in the levels of neurotrophins [186,187] are related to emotional disorders. ACC, the first-order cortical region that responds to painful stimuli [188], plays an important role in pain information processing [189][190][191], including the processing of pain affection [192][193][194][195]. Abnormal expression of TNF-α, neuronal hyperexcitability and microglial activation in ACC contribute to inflammatory and neuropathic pain and pain aversion [20,196].…”

Section: Tnf-α/necroptosis In Pain-associated Anxiety and Depressionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neuroimmune Mechanisms Underlying Neuropathic Pain: The Potential Role of TNF-α-Necroptosis Pathway

Duan

Chen

et al. 2022

IJMS

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The neuroimmune mechanism underlying neuropathic pain has been extensively studied. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), a key pro-inflammatory cytokine that drives cytokine storm and stimulates a cascade of other cytokines in pain-related pathways, induces and modulates neuropathic pain by facilitating peripheral (primary afferents) and central (spinal cord) sensitization. Functionally, TNF-α controls the balance between cell survival and death by inducing an inflammatory response and two programmed cell death mechanisms (apoptosis and necroptosis). Necroptosis, a novel form of programmed cell death, is receiving increasing attraction and may trigger neuroinflammation to promote neuropathic pain. Chronic pain is often accompanied by adverse pain-associated emotional reactions and cognitive disorders. Overproduction of TNF-α in supraspinal structures such as the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and hippocampus plays an important role in pain-associated emotional disorders and memory deficits and also participates in the modulation of pain transduction. At present, studies reporting on the role of the TNF-α–necroptosis pathway in pain-related disorders are lacking. This review indicates the important research prospects of this pathway in pain modulation based on its role in anxiety, depression and memory deficits associated with other neurodegenerative diseases. In addition, we have summarized studies related to the underlying mechanisms of neuropathic pain mediated by TNF-α and discussed the role of the TNF-α–necroptosis pathway in detail, which may represent an avenue for future therapeutic intervention.

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Predictive coding models for pain perception

Cited by 22 publications

References 71 publications

Temporal–spectral signaling of sensory information and expectations in the cerebral processing of pain

Temporal–spectral signaling of sensory information and expectations in the cerebral processing of pain

Brain Responses to Hypnotic Verbal Suggestions Predict Pain Modulation

Neuroimmune Mechanisms Underlying Neuropathic Pain: The Potential Role of TNF-α-Necroptosis Pathway

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