DENTAL FEAR AND ANTICIPATION OF PAIN: IMAGING THE BRAIN

描述：拟议的实验计划旨在评估 由于对痛苦刺激的恐惧预期而产生的大脑功能。它的 主要目的是确定特定活动之间的关系 大脑结构(由区域血流变化定义)，报告 恐惧的唤醒，以及大脑皮质、内脏和躯体的反应 发生在期待痛苦的刺激时。这项研究是由一个 建立在行为基础上的人类情感激励理论， 心理生理学和神经生理学研究。建议进行的研究包括 旨在解释在正常情况下调节疼痛恐惧的神经机制 人类，并进一步检查可能的个体差异在 在男人和女人之间，以及在那些地位低下或 牙科恐惧症严重。拟议的研究的具体目的是映射神经 在即将到来的痛苦引起的恐惧预期中大脑的激活 刺激，并将获得的脑图与心理生理学联系起来 恐惧反应的模式。评估了三个主要自变量： 1)预期刺激的类型(电击或非疼痛 振动触觉)；2)受试者的牙科恐惧程度(低、高)；以及3)性别 主题。这八项研究中的每一项(2个刺激类型×2个恐惧组×2个 性)将在磁共振成像(MRI)上下文中进行一次 评估大脑功能活动，并在一次(与新参与者) 模拟MRI环境以获取自主、躯体和中枢(即EEG) 对预期恐惧的生理测量。拟议的研究将解决 关于恐惧的神经和心理生理组织的问题 与迫在眉睫的痛苦有关，以及个体在恐惧方面的差异 和/或性别会影响这些反应。此外，拟议的方法是 适应性强，随后可用于解决其他方面(感官和 情感)的痛苦体验。

DESCRIPTION: The proposed experimental program is designed to assess changes in brain function that occur with fearful anticipation of a painful stimulus. Its principal aim is to determine the relationship between activity in specific brain structures (as defined by changes in regional blood flow), reports of fear arousal, and the electrocortical, visceral, and somatic responses that occur when expecting a painful stimulus. This research is driven by a motivational theory of human emotion that is founded on behavioral, psychophysiological, and neurophysiological research. The proposed studies are intended to explicate neural mechanisms that mediate fear of pain in normal humans, and furthermore, to examine possible individual differences in anticipation of pain between men and women, and between those who are low or high in dental fear. The specific aim of the proposed research is to map neural activation in the brain during fearful anticipation evoked by imminent painful stimulation, and to relate the obtained brain maps to psychophysiological patterns of fear reactivity. Three primary independent variables are assessed: 1) The type of anticipated stimulus (electric shock or nonpainful vibrotactile); 2) Dental fear level of the subject (low, high); and 3) Sex of the subject. Each of these eight studies (2 stimulus type x 2 fear groups x 2 sex) will be conducted once in the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) context to assess functional brain activity, and once (with new participants) in a simulated MRI context to acquire autonomic, somatic, and central (i.e., EEG) physiological measures of anticipatory fear. The proposed research will address questions concerning the neural and psychophysiological organization of fear associated with imminent pain, as well as how individual differences in fear and/or sex affect these reactions. The proposed methodology is, furthermore, adaptable and can be used subsequently to address other facets (sensory and emotional) of the pain experience.