Pupil dilation evoked by painful electrical stimulation is abolished during pain inhibition by distraction

Wagenaar-Tison, A., Deldar, Z., Bergeron, A., Provencher, B., Northon, S., Rustamov, N., Blanchette, I., Sirois, S. et Piché, M. (2025). Pupil dilation evoked by painful electrical stimulation is abolished during pain inhibition by distraction. The Journal of Physiological Sciences, 75 (2). Article 100026. ISSN 1880-6546 1880-6562 DOI 10.1016/j.jphyss.2025.100026

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Résumé

Abstract
The aim of the present study was to examine the contribution of spinal and supraspinal processes to pain modulation by attention. It is hypothesized that pain inhibition by distraction is accompanied by reduced pain-evoked pupil dilation and cerebral activity, but no inhibition of the nociceptive flexion reflex (NFR), while pain anticipation is expected to increase pain perception and pain-related responses. Twenty healthy volunteers received 90 painful stimuli in control, distraction (mental arithmetic), and anticipation (visual cue) conditions. Anticipation did not modulate pain (p = .7), while distraction decreased pain significantly (p < .001). Moreover, pupil diameter increased 500–1000 ms post-stimulus in the control condition (p < .05), but this response was abolished by distraction. Distraction also decreased pain-related brain activity (high-gamma oscillations) (p = .004), but not the NFR (p = .3). These results suggest that pain inhibition by distraction is produced, in part, by supraspinal inhibition of nociceptive processes.

Type de document:	Article
Mots-clés libres:	Pain modulation Attention Nociceptive flexion reflex Pupillometry Electroencephalography
Date de dépôt:	10 déc. 2025 18:36
Dernière modification:	10 déc. 2025 18:36
Version du document déposé:	Version officielle de l'éditeur
URI:	https://depot-e.uqtr.ca/id/eprint/12469

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