Impact of cognitive deficits on the descending pain modulation system.

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Markus Burgmer
• Subject Area: Personality Psychology, Clinical and Medical Psychology, Methodology
• Term: from 2014 to 2018
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 253063096

In patients with fibromyalgiasyndrome (FMS) chronic pain and cognitive deficits are the leading symptoms. During distraction pain reduction is based upon activation changes of the prefrontal cortex, the anterior cingulate cortex, the periaqueductal grey and its neural connection on spinal level. This cerebral network of a descending pain modulation system (DPMS) has antinociceptive but pain facilitation potencies as well. In patients with FMS several studies revealed structural and functional alterations of areas of the DPMS. Furthermore, evidence of alterations of the cognitive networks were detected as well. With several of these brain areas showing overlapping functionalities in pain and cognitive processing it is assumed that in FMS cognitive dysfunction is based upon the increased cortical demands of pain processing and therefore diminished cognitive capacity. On the other hand patients attempt to compensate their cognitive deficits might consume all cortical performance which interferes with the subjects ability to distract themselves from pain. With help of a new cognition-pain-paradigm in functional MRI the activation patterns and functional connectivity of those cortical brain areas important for both aspects (cognition, pain modulation) will be examined. The results will give new insights of the cortical interplay between cognition and pain transmission in chronic pain conditions.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Participating Persons: Professorin Dr. Bettina Pfleiderer; Professor Dr. Tobias Schulte