Neurophysiological oscillatory markers of hypoalgesia in conditioned pain modulation

INTRODUCTION: Conditioned pain modulation (CPM) is an experimental procedure that consists of an ongoing noxious stimulus attenuating the pain perception caused by another noxious stimulus. A combination of the CPM paradigm with concurrent electrophysiological recordings can establish whether an association exists between experimentally modified pain perception and modulations of neural oscillations. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to characterize how CPM modifies pain perception and underlying neural oscillations. We also interrogated whether these perceptual and/or neurophysiological effects are distinct in patients affected by chronic pain. METHODS: We presented noxious electrical stimuli to the right ankle before, during, and after CPM induced by an ice pack placed on the left forearm. Seventeen patients with chronic pain and 17 control participants rated the electrical pain in each experimental condition. We used magnetoencephalography to examine the anatomy-specific effects of CPM on the neural oscillatory responses to the electrical pain. RESULTS: Regardless of the participant groups, CPM induced a reduction in subjective pain ratings and neural responses (beta-band [15–35 Hz] oscillations in the sensorimotor cortex) to electrical pain. CONCLUSION: Our findings of pain-induced beta-band activity may be associated with top-down modulations of pain, as reported in other perceptual modalities. Therefore, the reduced beta-band responses during CPM may indicate changes in top-down pain modulations.