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. 2022 Aug 5:16:931292.
doi: 10.3389/fnint.2022.931292. eCollection 2022.

Sensorimotor Integration and Pain Perception: Mechanisms Integrating Nociceptive Processing. A Systematic Review and ALE-Meta Analysis

Cindy Gombaut  1 , Scott A Holmes  2
Affiliations

Sensorimotor Integration and Pain Perception: Mechanisms Integrating Nociceptive Processing. A Systematic Review and ALE-Meta Analysis

Cindy Gombaut et al. Front Integr Neurosci. .

Abstract

Pain treatment services and clinical indicators of pain chronicity focus on afferent nociceptive projections and psychological markers of pain perception with little focus on motor processes. Research supports a strong role for the motor system both in terms of pain related disability and in descending pain modulation. However, there is little understanding of the neurological regions implicated in pain-motor interactions and how the motor and sensory systems interact under conditions of pain. We performed an ALE meta-analysis on two clinical cohorts with atypical sensory and motor processes under conditions of pain and no pain. Persons with sensory altered processing (SAP) and no pain presented with greater activity in the precentral and supplementary motor area relative to persons with self-reported pain. In persons with motor altered processing (MAP), there appeared to be a suppression of activity in key pain regions such as the insula, thalamus, and postcentral gyrus. As such, activation within the motor system may play a critical role in dampening pain symptoms in persons with SAP, and in suppressing activity in key pain regions of the brain in persons with MAP. Future research endeavors should focus on understanding how sensory and motor processes interact both to understand disability and discover new treatment avenues.

Keywords: chronic pain; fMRI; motor system; nociceptive processing; pain perception; sensorimotor integration (SMI); sensorimotor processing and motor diseases.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Criteria for SAP and MAP cohorts. Assignment of SAP (red) or MAP (blue) cohorts differentiated by disruption to afferent or efferent CNS processing, respectively. CNS, Central Nervous System; PNS, Peripheral Nervous System; SAP, Sensory Altered Processing; MAP, Motor Altered Processing.
Figure 2
Figure 2
PRISMA flow diagram of search methodology for articles included in meta-analysis. SCI, Spinal Cord Injury; PD, Parkinson's disease.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Left superior parietal lobule activation in SAP cohort with pain. Exemplar of a between-group activation peak of the movement execution contrast SAP w/P > SAP NP. Yellow-colored regions show increased brain activity in the left superior parietal lobule (cross- hairs reflect peak activation peak x = −28, y = −40, z = 54). SAP, Sensory Altered Processing; w/P, with Pain; NP, No Pain.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Cerebellum activation peaks in MAP cohort. Exemplar of between-group activation peaks of the movement execution contrast MAP > HC. A. Orange-colored region shows increased brain activity in the right precentral gyrus. Red-colored regions show increased brain activity in the right cerebellum Crus I (cross-hairs reflect activation peak x = 30, y = −68, z = −32). B. Yellow-colored regions show increased brain activity in the left cerebellum lobules I–IV (cross-hairs reflect activation peak x = −8, y = −50, z = −26).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Summary of hypotheses. Generated from findings in the current investigation on persons with sensory and motor altered processing.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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