1. Age-Related Changes in Nociceptive Processing in the Human Brain.
- Author
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QUITON, RAIMI L., ROYS, STEVEN R., ZHUO, JIACHEN, KEASER, MICHAEL L., GULLAPALLI, RAO P., and GREENSPAN, JOEL D.
- Subjects
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BRAIN , *MAGNETIC resonance imaging , *DIAGNOSTIC imaging , *HUMAN anatomy , *CENTRAL pain , *MEDICAL imaging systems - Abstract
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to compare cortical nociceptive responses to painful contact heat in healthy young (ages 22–30, n= 7) and older (ages 56–75, n= 7) subjects. Compared to young subjects, older subjects had significantly smaller pain-related fMRI responses in anterior insula (aINS) ( P < 0.04), primary somatosensory cortex (S1) ( P= 0.03), and supplementary motor area ( P= 0.02). Gray matter volumes in S1 and aINS were significantly smaller for the older group ( P= 0.02 and 0.0001, respectively), suggesting reduced processing capacity in these regions that might account for smaller pain-related fMRI responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2007
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