EEG (electroencephalography) measurement of brainwaves shows which areas of the brain process and modulate pain. © romaset/stock.adobe.com

How does the prefrontal cortex process expectations of pain?

Project A03
Team

The prefrontal cortex (frontal lobe) controls anxiety, reason and self-control. It also plays an important role in the sensation of pain. This project investigates how expectation of pain influences this region of the brain in particular and how the prefrontal cortex interacts with other areas of the brain for this purpose. Can neurofeedback change expectation-induced brain activity?

Prefrontal mechanisms of positive and negative expectation effects on pain: a combined EEG and fMRI study

This study uses a combination of EEG (electroencephalography) and fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) measurements to investigate pain-related prefrontal mechanisms during the pre-stimulus period in participants with positive and negative treatment expectations. It focuses on connectivity between the prefrontal cortex and areas of pain processing and modulation. Direct feedback of neural activity (brain-computer interface) will be used to investigate the causal role of the (dorsolateral) prefrontal cortex and its interaction with downstream pain-modulating mechanisms in an expectation-induced pain modulation model.