No evidence for an effect of selective spatial attention on the development of secondary hyperalgesia: A replication study
Central sensitization refers to the increased responsiveness of nociceptive neurons in the central nervous system after repeated or sustained peripheral nociceptor activation. It is hypothesized to play a key role in the development of chronic pain. A hallmark of central sensitization is an increase...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-11-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2022.997230/full |
| _version_ | 1798045592767692800 |
|---|---|
| author | Delia Della Porta Delia Della Porta Marie-Lynn Vilz Avgustina Kuzminova Lieve Filbrich Lieve Filbrich André Mouraux André Mouraux André Mouraux Valéry Legrain Valéry Legrain Valéry Legrain |
| author_facet | Delia Della Porta Delia Della Porta Marie-Lynn Vilz Avgustina Kuzminova Lieve Filbrich Lieve Filbrich André Mouraux André Mouraux André Mouraux Valéry Legrain Valéry Legrain Valéry Legrain |
| author_sort | Delia Della Porta |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Central sensitization refers to the increased responsiveness of nociceptive neurons in the central nervous system after repeated or sustained peripheral nociceptor activation. It is hypothesized to play a key role in the development of chronic pain. A hallmark of central sensitization is an increased sensitivity to noxious mechanical stimuli extending beyond the injured location, known as secondary hyperalgesia. For its ability to modulate the transmission and the processing of nociceptive inputs, attention could constitute a promising target to prevent central sensitization and the development of chronic pain. It was recently shown that the experimental induction of central sensitization at both forearms of healthy volunteers using bilateral high-frequency electrocutaneous stimulation (HFS), can be modulated by encouraging participants to selectively focus their attention to one arm, to the detriment of the other arm, resulting in a greater secondary hyperalgesia on the attended arm as compared to the unattended one. Given the potential value of the question being addressed, we conducted a preregistered replication study in a well-powered independent sample to assess the robustness of the effect, i.e., the modulatory role of spatial attention on the induction of central sensitization. This hypothesis was tested using a double-blind, within-subject design. Sixty-seven healthy volunteers performed a task that required focusing attention toward one forearm to discriminate innocuous vibrotactile stimuli while HFS was applied on both forearms simultaneously. Our results showed a significant increase in mechanical sensitivity directly and 20 min after HFS. However, in contrast to the previous study, we did not find a significant difference in the development of secondary hyperalgesia between the attended vs. unattended arms. Our results question whether spatial selective attention affects the development of secondary hyperalgesia. Alternatively, the non-replication could be because the bottom-up capture of attention caused by the HFS-mediated sensation was too strong in comparison to the top-down modulation exerted by the attentional task. In other words, the task was not engaging enough and the HFS pulses, including those on the unattended arm, were too salient to allow a selective focus on one arm and modulate nociceptive processing. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T23:23:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-953e7684ca044d25a294b450cc6bd625 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1662-5161 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T23:23:32Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj.art-953e7684ca044d25a294b450cc6bd6252022-12-22T03:57:23ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Human Neuroscience1662-51612022-11-011610.3389/fnhum.2022.997230997230No evidence for an effect of selective spatial attention on the development of secondary hyperalgesia: A replication studyDelia Della Porta0Delia Della Porta1Marie-Lynn Vilz2Avgustina Kuzminova3Lieve Filbrich4Lieve Filbrich5André Mouraux6André Mouraux7André Mouraux8Valéry Legrain9Valéry Legrain10Valéry Legrain11Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, BelgiumPsychological Sciences Research Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, BelgiumInstitute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, BelgiumInstitute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, BelgiumInstitute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, BelgiumPsychological Sciences Research Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, BelgiumInstitute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, BelgiumPsychological Sciences Research Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, BelgiumLouvain Bionics, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, BelgiumInstitute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, BelgiumPsychological Sciences Research Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, BelgiumLouvain Bionics, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, BelgiumCentral sensitization refers to the increased responsiveness of nociceptive neurons in the central nervous system after repeated or sustained peripheral nociceptor activation. It is hypothesized to play a key role in the development of chronic pain. A hallmark of central sensitization is an increased sensitivity to noxious mechanical stimuli extending beyond the injured location, known as secondary hyperalgesia. For its ability to modulate the transmission and the processing of nociceptive inputs, attention could constitute a promising target to prevent central sensitization and the development of chronic pain. It was recently shown that the experimental induction of central sensitization at both forearms of healthy volunteers using bilateral high-frequency electrocutaneous stimulation (HFS), can be modulated by encouraging participants to selectively focus their attention to one arm, to the detriment of the other arm, resulting in a greater secondary hyperalgesia on the attended arm as compared to the unattended one. Given the potential value of the question being addressed, we conducted a preregistered replication study in a well-powered independent sample to assess the robustness of the effect, i.e., the modulatory role of spatial attention on the induction of central sensitization. This hypothesis was tested using a double-blind, within-subject design. Sixty-seven healthy volunteers performed a task that required focusing attention toward one forearm to discriminate innocuous vibrotactile stimuli while HFS was applied on both forearms simultaneously. Our results showed a significant increase in mechanical sensitivity directly and 20 min after HFS. However, in contrast to the previous study, we did not find a significant difference in the development of secondary hyperalgesia between the attended vs. unattended arms. Our results question whether spatial selective attention affects the development of secondary hyperalgesia. Alternatively, the non-replication could be because the bottom-up capture of attention caused by the HFS-mediated sensation was too strong in comparison to the top-down modulation exerted by the attentional task. In other words, the task was not engaging enough and the HFS pulses, including those on the unattended arm, were too salient to allow a selective focus on one arm and modulate nociceptive processing.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2022.997230/fullcentral sensitizationselective spatial attentionsecondary hyperalgesiatop-down control of attentionreplication studypain |
| spellingShingle | Delia Della Porta Delia Della Porta Marie-Lynn Vilz Avgustina Kuzminova Lieve Filbrich Lieve Filbrich André Mouraux André Mouraux André Mouraux Valéry Legrain Valéry Legrain Valéry Legrain No evidence for an effect of selective spatial attention on the development of secondary hyperalgesia: A replication study Frontiers in Human Neuroscience central sensitization selective spatial attention secondary hyperalgesia top-down control of attention replication study pain |
| title | No evidence for an effect of selective spatial attention on the development of secondary hyperalgesia: A replication study |
| title_full | No evidence for an effect of selective spatial attention on the development of secondary hyperalgesia: A replication study |
| title_fullStr | No evidence for an effect of selective spatial attention on the development of secondary hyperalgesia: A replication study |
| title_full_unstemmed | No evidence for an effect of selective spatial attention on the development of secondary hyperalgesia: A replication study |
| title_short | No evidence for an effect of selective spatial attention on the development of secondary hyperalgesia: A replication study |
| title_sort | no evidence for an effect of selective spatial attention on the development of secondary hyperalgesia a replication study |
| topic | central sensitization selective spatial attention secondary hyperalgesia top-down control of attention replication study pain |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2022.997230/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT deliadellaporta noevidenceforaneffectofselectivespatialattentiononthedevelopmentofsecondaryhyperalgesiaareplicationstudy AT deliadellaporta noevidenceforaneffectofselectivespatialattentiononthedevelopmentofsecondaryhyperalgesiaareplicationstudy AT marielynnvilz noevidenceforaneffectofselectivespatialattentiononthedevelopmentofsecondaryhyperalgesiaareplicationstudy AT avgustinakuzminova noevidenceforaneffectofselectivespatialattentiononthedevelopmentofsecondaryhyperalgesiaareplicationstudy AT lievefilbrich noevidenceforaneffectofselectivespatialattentiononthedevelopmentofsecondaryhyperalgesiaareplicationstudy AT lievefilbrich noevidenceforaneffectofselectivespatialattentiononthedevelopmentofsecondaryhyperalgesiaareplicationstudy AT andremouraux noevidenceforaneffectofselectivespatialattentiononthedevelopmentofsecondaryhyperalgesiaareplicationstudy AT andremouraux noevidenceforaneffectofselectivespatialattentiononthedevelopmentofsecondaryhyperalgesiaareplicationstudy AT andremouraux noevidenceforaneffectofselectivespatialattentiononthedevelopmentofsecondaryhyperalgesiaareplicationstudy AT valerylegrain noevidenceforaneffectofselectivespatialattentiononthedevelopmentofsecondaryhyperalgesiaareplicationstudy AT valerylegrain noevidenceforaneffectofselectivespatialattentiononthedevelopmentofsecondaryhyperalgesiaareplicationstudy AT valerylegrain noevidenceforaneffectofselectivespatialattentiononthedevelopmentofsecondaryhyperalgesiaareplicationstudy |