Within-limb somatotopic representation of acute muscle pain in the human contralateral dorsal posterior insula

Luke A. Henderson, Troy K. Rubin, Vaughan G. Macefield

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    28 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    It is well established that the insular cortex processes noxious information. We have previously shown that noxious inputs from the arm and leg are coarsely organized somatotopically within the dorsal posterior insula. The same has been shown for inputs from C tactile afferents, which mediate affective touch, and it has been suggested that the insula may be responsible for the localization of some somatosensory stimuli. Knowing the degree of spatial detail may have significant implications for the potential role of the dorsal posterior insula in the processing of noxious stimuli. Using high-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we compared insula activation patterns in 13 subjects during muscle pain induced by injection of hypertonic saline (5%) into three muscles within the same limb: shoulder (deltoid), forearm (flexor carpi radialis), and hand (first dorsal interosseous). Mapping the maximally activated voxels within the contralateral dorsal posterior insula in each individual subject during each pain stimulus revealed a clear somatotopy of activation within the contralateral dorsal posterior insula. Shoulder pain was represented anterior to forearm pain and medial to hand pain. This fine somatotopic organization may be crucial for pain localization or other aspects of the pain experience that differ depending on stimulation site.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)1592-1601
    Number of pages10
    JournalHuman Brain Mapping
    Volume32
    Issue number10
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2011

    Keywords

    • brain mapping
    • cerebral cortex
    • high resolution imaging
    • magnetic resonance imaging
    • myalgia
    • nociceptors
    • shoulder pain

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