Open AccessTemporal–spectral signaling of sensory information and expectations in the cerebral processing of pain
Author(s) -
Moritz M. Nickel,
Laura Tiemann,
Vanessa D. Hohn,
May E,
Cristina Gil Ávila,
Falk Eippert,
Markus Ploner
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.2116616119
Subject(s) - sensory system , electroencephalography , stimulus (psychology) , perception , somatosensory system , neuroscience , psychology , audiology , cognitive psychology , medicine
Significance Pain is not only shaped by sensory information but also by an individual’s expectations. Here, we investigated how commonly analyzed electroencephalography (EEG) responses to pain signal sensory information, expectations, and discrepancies thereof (prediction errors) in the processing of pain. Bayesian analysis confirmed that pain perception was shaped by objective sensory information and expectations. In contrast, EEG responses at different latencies (including the N1, N2, and P2 components) and frequencies (including alpha, beta, and gamma oscillations) were shaped by sensory information but not by expectations. Thus, EEG responses to pain are more involved in signaling sensory information than in signaling expectations or prediction errors. Expectation effects are obviously mediated by other brain mechanisms than the effects of sensory information on pain.