TY - JOUR
T1 - TDCS modulates cortical nociceptive processing but has little to no impact on pain perception
AU - Ihle, Kristin
AU - Rodriguez-Raecke, Rea
AU - Luedtke, Kerstin
AU - May, Arne
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2014 International Association for the Study of Pain. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
PY - 2014/10/1
Y1 - 2014/10/1
N2 - Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) effectively modulates cortical excitability. Several studies suggest clinical efficacy in chronic pain syndromes. However, little is known regarding its effects on cortical pain processing. In this double-blind, randomized, cross-over, sham controlled study, we examined the effects of anodal, cathodal, and sham stimulation of the left motor cortex in 16 healthy volunteers using functional imaging during an acute heat pain paradigm as well as pain thresholds, pain intensity ratings, and quantitative sensory testing. tDCS was applied at 1 mA for 15 minutes. Neither cathodal nor anodal tDCS significantly changed brain activation in response to nociceptive stimulation when compared with sham stimulation. However, contrasting the interaction of stimulation modes (anodal/cathodal) resulted in a significant decrease of activation in the hypothalamus, inferior parietal cortex, inferior parietal lobule, anterior insula, and precentral gyrus, contralateral to the stimulation site after anodal stimulation, which showed the opposite behavior after cathodal stimulation. Pain ratings and heat hyperalgesia showed only a subclinical pain reduction after anodal tDCS. Larger-scale clinical trials using higher tDCS intensities or longer durations are necessary to assess the neurophysiological effect and subsequently the therapeutic potential of tDCS.
AB - Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) effectively modulates cortical excitability. Several studies suggest clinical efficacy in chronic pain syndromes. However, little is known regarding its effects on cortical pain processing. In this double-blind, randomized, cross-over, sham controlled study, we examined the effects of anodal, cathodal, and sham stimulation of the left motor cortex in 16 healthy volunteers using functional imaging during an acute heat pain paradigm as well as pain thresholds, pain intensity ratings, and quantitative sensory testing. tDCS was applied at 1 mA for 15 minutes. Neither cathodal nor anodal tDCS significantly changed brain activation in response to nociceptive stimulation when compared with sham stimulation. However, contrasting the interaction of stimulation modes (anodal/cathodal) resulted in a significant decrease of activation in the hypothalamus, inferior parietal cortex, inferior parietal lobule, anterior insula, and precentral gyrus, contralateral to the stimulation site after anodal stimulation, which showed the opposite behavior after cathodal stimulation. Pain ratings and heat hyperalgesia showed only a subclinical pain reduction after anodal tDCS. Larger-scale clinical trials using higher tDCS intensities or longer durations are necessary to assess the neurophysiological effect and subsequently the therapeutic potential of tDCS.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84908115909&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.pain.2014.07.018
DO - 10.1016/j.pain.2014.07.018
M3 - Journal articles
C2 - 25083928
AN - SCOPUS:84908115909
SN - 0304-3959
VL - 155
SP - 2080
EP - 2087
JO - Pain
JF - Pain
IS - 10
ER -