Brain, Vol. 126, No. 2, 438-450,
February 2003
© 2003 Guarantors of Brain
doi: 10.1093/brain/awg032
Dual representation of pain in the operculo-insular cortex in humans
Department of Functional Neurology and Epileptology, Hôpital Neurologique, Lyon, France
Correspondence to: Maud Frot, Department of Functional Neurology and Epileptology, Hôpital Neurologique, 59 boulevard Pinel, 69003, Lyon, France E-mail: timo{at}hydromail.com
We report the response properties of the suprasylvian opercular and insular cortices to a painful stimulation delivered by a CO2 laser recorded by depth intracerebral electrodes in epileptic patients. We defined two cortical areas of activation in the operculo-insular cortex in response to a painful laser stimulation: a suprasylvian opercular area, where we recorded responses peaking 140–170 ms after a painful stimulation (N140–P170), and a deeper insular area, where responses with a similar pattern peaked 180–230 ms after the stimulus (N180–P230). The average delay of 50 ms measured between the opercular and insular responses may reflect either sequential activation of the suprasylvian cortex then of the insula via corticocortical connections, or direct activation of the insula by inputs conveyed via thalamocortical projections through distinct fibres with different conduction times. We also recorded similar insular and opercular responses in the hemisphere ipsilateral to the stimulation, peaking 15 ms later than contralateral responses; this delay is compatible with transcallosal input transmission between these cortices. The mean stereotactic coordinates of the suprasylvian opercular N140–P170 and insular N180–P230 responses were found to be very similar to those of the maximal blood-flow responses to pain reported by previous PET and functional MRI studies in these cortical areas. We were able to distinguish the suprasylvian opercular and insular cortices in terms of response latencies evoked by a painful stimulus and in terms of stereotactic coordinates of the sources of these responses. The sequential timing of activation of the suprasylvian and insular cortices shown in this study thus complements in the time domain the spatial information provided by neuroimaging studies of the cortical processing of pain. It strongly suggests that these cortical areas are those responding with the shortest latency to peripheral pain inputs in the human brain.
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  T. Weiss, W. Hesse, M. Ungureanu, H. Hecht, L. Leistritz, H. Witte, and W. H. R. Miltner How Do Brain Areas Communicate During the Processing of Noxious Stimuli? An Analysis of Laser-Evoked Event-Related Potentials Using the Granger Causality Index J Neurophysiol, May 1, 2008; 99(5): 2220 - 2231. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 V. G. Macefield, S. Gandevia, and L. A. Henderson Discrete Changes in Cortical Activation during Experimentally Induced Referred Muscle Pain: A Single-Trial fMRI Study Cereb Cortex, September 1, 2007; 17(9): 2050 - 2059. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
Y. Ogino, H. Nemoto, K. Inui, S. Saito, R. Kakigi, and F. Goto Inner Experience of Pain: Imagination of Pain While Viewing Images Showing Painful Events Forms Subjective Pain Representation in Human Brain Cereb Cortex, May 1, 2007; 17(5): 1139 - 1146. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 F. Godinho, M. Magnin, M. Frot, C. Perchet, and L. Garcia-Larrea Emotional modulation of pain: is it the sensation or what we recall? J. Neurosci., November 1, 2006; 26(44): 11454 - 11461. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. C. Scaife, J. Groves, R. W. Langley, C. M. Bradshaw, and E. Szabadi Sensitivity of late-latency auditory and somatosensory evoked potentials to threat of electric shock and the sedative drugs diazepam and diphenhydramine in human volunteers J Psychopharmacol, July 1, 2006; 20(4): 485 - 495. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
L. Mazzola, J. Isnard, and F. Mauguiere Somatosensory and Pain Responses to Stimulation of the Second Somatosensory Area (SII) in Humans. A Comparison with SI and Insular Responses Cereb Cortex, July 1, 2006; 16(7): 960 - 968. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R. Peyron, F. Schneider, I. Faillenot, P. Convers, F.-G. Barral, L. Garcia-Larrea, and B. Laurent An fMRI study of cortical representation of mechanical allodynia in patients with neuropathic pain Neurology, November 23, 2004; 63(10): 1838 - 1846. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. Magnin, H. Bastuji, L. Garcia-Larrea, and F. Mauguiere Human Thalamic Medial Pulvinar Nucleus is not Activated during Paradoxical Sleep Cereb Cortex, August 1, 2004; 14(8): 858 - 862. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. Ohara, N. E. Crone, N. Weiss, R.-D. Treede, and F. A. Lenz Cutaneous Painful Laser Stimuli Evoke Responses Recorded Directly From Primary Somatosensory Cortex in Awake Humans J Neurophysiol, June 1, 2004; 91(6): 2734 - 2746. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
H. Vogel, J. D. Port, F. A. Lenz, M. Solaiyappan, G. Krauss, and R.-D. Treede Dipole Source Analysis of Laser-Evoked Subdural Potentials Recorded From Parasylvian Cortex in Humans J Neurophysiol, June 1, 2003; 89(6): 3051 - 3060. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|