The exact mechanism underlying fibromyalgia is unknown, but increased facilitatory
modulation and/or dysfunctional descending inhibitory pathway activity are posited as …

Attentional and emotional states alter the way we perceive pain. Recent findings suggest
that the mechanisms underlying these two forms of pain modulation are at least partially …

Communication within the brain is dynamic. Chronic pain can also be dynamic, with varying
intensities experienced over time. Little is known of how brain dynamics are disrupted in …

Top-down pain modulation relies on both cortical and subcortical structures. Research on
the involved circuitry, including the implemented mechanisms, is a major focus of …

Understanding how humans represent others' pain is critical for understanding pro-social
behavior.'Shared experience'theories propose common brain representations for somatic …

Brain processing of pain in humans is based on multiple ascending pathways and brain
regions that are involved in several pain components, such as sensory, immediate affective …

Although pain is defined as a sensory and emotional experience, it is traditionally
researched and clinically treated separately from emotion. Conceptual and mechanistic …

Chronic pain and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are disabling conditions that affect
biological, psychological, and social domains of functioning. Clinical research demonstrates …

The sensory, associative and limbic neocortical structures play a critical role in shaping
incoming noxious inputs to generate variable pain perceptions. Technological advances in …

Background Recent functional imaging studies on chronic pain of various organic etiologies
have shown significant alterations in both the spatial and the temporal dimensions of the …