Activation of distinct cortical areas elicited by visual emotional experiences

It is a frequent clinical observation that pain anxiety can exacerbate pain sensation. We compared the changes occurring in the brain of normal individuals and neuropathic pain patients with allodynia in response to virtual visual stimulation. At the time of taking brain fMRI, they were shown a video demonstrating painful stimulation of the palm and another stimulation aimed at producing its anticipation. Allodynia patients showed activation of cortical areas related to pain and emotions. This is the first study that employs virtual visual stimulation to assess the representation of emotions in the brain of allodynia patients. We suggest this experimental design to become a tool to evaluate the treatment efficacy of these patients.