EVOKED POTENTIAL STUDIES OF PAIN

体感诱发电位(SEP)峰值幅度已显示为 当伤害性刺激的水平与痛感相关时 多种多样。已经显示出SEP峰值的操作条件性改变 使疼痛敏感度发生显著变化。因此，SEP有效 在提供一种非侵入性测量和测量手段方面有很大希望 控制人类与疼痛相关的生理过程。以前的研究 在这两个领域都受到了多重组件性质的阻碍 体感诱发电位达到峰值。非疼痛相关神经元产生的成分可以掩盖 它们由疼痛相关神经元产生，并模糊了两者之间的关系 在SEP峰值和疼痛过程之间。 拟议的工作将调查SEP和SEP之间的关系 疼痛过程使用的程序将更好地分离和识别 SEP波峰下的不同成分。首先，一个冷漠的 将确定参比电极位置，以将污染降至最低 从参考现场记录的部件。第二，量化头皮 地形图分析是与疼痛相关的SEP研究中的第一个此类分析， 将决定时间和空间(每个头皮位置的幅度 和模式)与感知最佳相关的SEP特征 有害物和无害物等级等级和变化 传入输入。第三，SEP的P180峰值将是可操作性的 条件化及其对疼痛敏感性的影响。对照组 将评估疼痛敏感度的变化是否是由于非特异性 心理因素，例如期望、注意力等，或者是特定的 体感诱发电位的条件性变化。SEP头皮地形图将是 分析以确定SEP的空间和时间特征是否最佳 在条件反射过程中观察到的与疼痛敏感有关的 在实验中确定的那些不同的传入输入。

Somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) peak amplitude has been shown to correlate with pain sensation when the level of noxious stimulation is varied. Operantly conditioned changes in SEP peak amplitude have been shown to produce significant changes in pain sensitivity. Thus, the SEP holds considerable promise for providing a non-invasive means of measuring and controlling pain-related physiological processes in man. Previous research in both these areas has been hampered by the multiple component nature of the SEP peaks. Components generated by non-pain-related neurons can mask those generated by pain-related neurons and obscure the relationship between the SEP peak and pain processes. The proposed work will investigate the relationship between the SEP and pain processes using procedures that will better separate and identify the different components underlying the SEP peaks. First, an indifferent reference electrode site will be determined to minimize contamination by components recorded from the reference site. Second, a quantitative scalp topographic analysis, the first of its kind in pain-related SEP studies, will determine the temporal and spatial (amplitude at each scalp location and pattern) features of the SEP that best correlate with perceived magnitude ratings and changes in the level of noxious and innocuous afferent input. Third, the P180 peak of the SEP will be operantly conditioned and its effect on pain sensitivity investigated. Control groups will evaluate whether the change in pain sensitivity is due to non-specific psychological factors, e.g., expectation, attention, etc., or is specific to conditioned changes in the SEP. The SEP scalp topography will be analyzed to determine whether spatial and temporal features of the SEP best related to pain sensitivity observed during conditioning are similar to those determined in the experiments that varied afferent input.