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Role of histaminergic neurons in hypnotic modulation of brain processing of visceral perception
Author(s) -
Watanabe S.,
Hattori T.,
Kanazawa M.,
Kano M.,
Fukudo S.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
neurogastroenterology and motility
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.489
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1365-2982
pISSN - 1350-1925
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2982.2007.00959.x
Subject(s) - histaminergic , psychology , hypnotic , visceral pain , neuroscience , histamine h3 receptor , histamine , anesthesia , antagonist , medicine , nociception , pharmacology , receptor
Modulating visceral sensation of the body is important to the understanding of emotion formation. Molecules that act during hypnosis and modify visceral pain perception are not known. We tested our hypothesis that hypnotic suggestion changes electrophysiological processing of visceroafferent signals in the human brain and that these conditions are in part dependent on histaminergic neurons. Twelve healthy male subjects were studied on two separate days: a day of treatment with histamine H 1 receptor antagonist ( d ‐chlorpheniramine 100 μ g kg −1 , intravenously) and another day of that with placebo (saline, the same amount) in a randomized order. We recorded cortical evoked potentials to 100 rectal electrical stimuli after neutral, hyperalgesic or analgesic hypnotic suggestions as given to modulate the visceral perception. Analgesic suggestion reduced the amplitude of the deepest positive peak of viscerosensory evoked potential. Administration of histamine H 1 antagonist diminished the attenuation of viscerosensory evoked potential by analgesic suggestion. Our results suggest that central pain modulatory system in the brain is activated by hypnotic suggestion and that brain histamine is a mediator in the hypnotic modulation of visceral sensory pathway as well as in the control of consciousness level. These findings lead us to possible new treatment for control of visceral perception.