Evidence for Thalamic Involvement in the Thermal Grill Illusion An fMRI Study 英文参考文献.docVIP

EvidenceforThalamicInvolvementintheThermalGrill Illusion:AnfMRIStudy FredrikLindstedt1*,BoJohansson2,SofiaMartinsen1,EvaKosek1,PeterFransson1,MartinIngvar1 1DepartmentofClinicalNeuroscience,OsherCenterforIntegrativeMedicine,StockholmBrainInstitute,KarolinskaInstitutet,Stockholm,Sweden,2SomedicAB,Ho¨rby, Sweden Abstract Background: Perceptual illusions play an important role in untangling neural mechanisms underlying conscious phenomena.Thethermalgrillillusion(TGI)hasbeensuggestedasapromisingmodelforexploringperceptsinvolvedin neuropathicpain,suchascold-allodynia(painarisingfromcontactwithinnocuouscold).TheTGIisanunpleasant/painful sensationfromtouchingjuxtapositionedbarsofcoldandwarminnocuoustemperatures. Aim:TodevelopanMRI-compatibleTGI-unitandexplorethesupraspinalcorrelatesoftheillusion,usingfMRI,inagroupof healthyvolunteers. Methods: We constructed a TGI-thermode allowing the rapid presentation of warm(41uC), cold(18uC) and interleave- d(41uC+18uC=TGI) temperatures in an fMRI-environment. Twenty volunteers were tested. The affective-motivational (‘‘unpleasantness’’) and sensory-disciminatory (‘‘pain-intensity’’) dimensions of each respective stimulus were rated. Functionalimageswereanalyzedatacorrecteda-level,0.05. Results: The TGI was rated as significantly more unpleasant and painful than stimulation with each of its constituent temperatures. Also, the TGI was rated as significantly more unpleasant than painful. Thermal stimulation versus neutral baselinerevealedbilateralactivationsoftheanteriorinsulaeandfronto-parietalregions.Unlikeitsconstituenttemperatures theTGIdisplayedastrongactivationoftheright(contralateral)thalamus.Exploratorycontrastsataslightlymoreliberal threshold-level also revealed a TGI-activation of the right mid/anterior insula, correlating with ratings of unpleasant- ness(rho=0.31). Conclusion/Significance:Tothebestofourknowledge,thisisthefirstfMRI-studyoftheTGI.Theactivationoftheanterior insula is consistent with this region’s putative rol