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. 2020 Jan 23;15(1):e0228158.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0228158. eCollection 2020.

Mutual interaction between motor cortex activation and pain in fibromyalgia: EEG-fNIRS study

Eleonora Gentile  1 , Antonio Brunetti  2 , Katia Ricci  1 , Marianna Delussi  1 , Vitoantonio Bevilacqua  2 , Marina de Tommaso  1
Affiliations
Free PMC article

Mutual interaction between motor cortex activation and pain in fibromyalgia: EEG-fNIRS study

Eleonora Gentile et al. PLoS One. .
Free PMC article

Abstract

Background: Experimental and clinical studies suggested an analgesic effect on chronic pain by motor cortex activation. The present study explored the complex mechanisms of interaction between motor and pain during performing the slow and fast finger tapping task alone and in concomitant with nociceptive laser stimulation.

Method: The participants were 38 patients with fibromyalgia (FM) and 21 healthy subjects. We used a simultaneous multimodal method of laser-evoked potentials and functional near-infrared spectroscopy to investigate metabolic and electrical changes during the finger tapping task and concomitant noxious laser stimulation. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy is a portable and optical method to detect cortical metabolic changes. Laser-evoked potentials are a suitable tool to study the nociceptive pathways function.

Results: We found a reduced tone of cortical motor areas in patients with FM compared to controls, especially during the fast finger tapping task. FM patients presented a slow motor performance in all the experimental conditions, requesting rapid movements. The amplitude of laser evoked potentials was different between patients and controls, in each experimental condition, as patients showed smaller evoked responses compared to controls. Concurrent phasic pain stimulation had a low effect on motor cortex metabolism in both groups nor motor activity changed laser evoked responses in a relevant way. There were no correlations between Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (FNIRS) and clinical features in FM patients.

Conclusion: Our findings indicated that a low tone of motor cortex activation could be an intrinsic feature in FM and generate a scarce modulation on pain condition. A simple and repetitive movement such as that of the finger tapping task seems inefficacious in modulating cortical responses to pain both in patients and controls. The complex mechanisms of interaction between networks involved in pain control and motor function require further studies for the important role they play in structuring rehabilitation strategies.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Design: Randomized sequence of experimental conditions.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Channels and optodes configuration.
The red circles indicate sources. The blue circles represent detectors. The green lines show recording channels with the number correspondent.
Fig 3
Fig 3
Mean values of finger tapping speed in motor task conditions in patients (green) and controls (blue). Statistical comparison is reported in Table 2.
Fig 4
Fig 4. Estimated means of ΔHbO2 or ΔHb expressed in mmol/L for significant channels in different conditions.
(a) Estimated means of ΔHbO2 for channel 4; (b) Estimated means of ΔHbO2 for channel 6; (c) Estimated means of ΔHb for channel 6; (d) Estimated means of ΔHbO2 for channel 10; (e) Estimated means of ΔHb for channel 10.
Fig 5
Fig 5. F-statistic values of ΔHbO2 and ΔHb during different conditions.
FM and Control groups activation maps using canonical HRF model. The higher difference between control subjects and patients’ activations is represented with the red colour. (a) F-statistic values of ΔHbO2 during the resting state condition; (b) F-statistic values of ΔHbO2 during the FFT condition; (c) F-statistic values of ΔHbO2 and ΔHb during the FFT + LASER ON THE LEFT-HAND condition; (d) F-statistic values of ΔHb during the SFT condition; (e) F-statistic values of ΔHbO2 and ΔHb during the SFT + LASER ON THE RIGHT-HAND condition.
Fig 6
Fig 6. Grand average of LEPs by right hand stimulation in patients and controls.
(a) laser on the right hand, (b) SFT task during concomitant stimulation on the right hand, (c) FFT task during concomitant stimulation on the right hand both in patients and controls.
Fig 7
Fig 7. Grand average of LEPs by left hand stimulation in patients and controls.
(a) laser on the left hand, (b) SFT task during concomitant stimulation on the left hand, (c) FFT task during concomitant stimulation on the left hand) both in patients and controls.
Fig 8
Fig 8. Mean of N1 and N2P2 amplitude in experimental conditions with laser stimulation on the right hand for patients and controls.
(a) N1 amplitude. (b) N2P2 amplitude.
Fig 9
Fig 9. Mean of N1 latency in experimental conditions with laser stimulation on the right hand for patients and controls.
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Grants and funding

The study was supported by Bari Aldo Moro University Research funds. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.