International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 2020
Fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) degrades the endogenous endocannabinoid (eCB) anandamide and mi... more Fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) degrades the endogenous endocannabinoid (eCB) anandamide and might be involved in the response to suggestions of analgesia in subjects with high hypnotizability scores (highs). Since the A allele of the FAAH C385A polymorphism (rs324420) is associated with lower FAAH activity, it was studied in 21 highs, 66 low hypnotizable individuals (lows), and 172 individuals not selected for hypnotizability (controls) representing the general population. No significant difference was observed among groups, but the A allele frequency showed a significant trend to increase from lows to controls and from controls to highs. Since eCB small differences can be amplified by eCB interactions with other neurotransmitters, a contribution of the FAAH polymorphism to the highs' analgesia should not be excluded.
Can interoceptive sensitivity provide information on the difference in the perceptual mechanisms of recurrent and chronic pain? Part I. A retrospective clinical study related to multidimensional pain assessment
Scandinavian Journal of Pain
Objectives Although neurobiological research has shown that interoception plays a role in the per... more Objectives Although neurobiological research has shown that interoception plays a role in the perception of pain and its chronification, the relationship between interoceptive sensitivity and pain has not been definitively confirmed by clinical studies. The aim of this study was therefore to better understand the relationship between interoceptive sensitivity, somatization, and clinical pain, and to identify any differences in the interoceptive sensitivity of patients with recurrent vs. chronic pain. Methods Scores from 43 Chronic pain subjects, assessed using ICD-11 Criteria; 42 healthy subjects (without pain or psychiatric disorders); and 38 recurrent pain subjects on the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA), Body Perception Questionnaire (BPQ-SF), Somatosensory amplification scale (SSAS), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-15), Symptom Checklist-Revised (SCL-90-R), and Italian Pain Questionnaire (IPQ) were compared. Results Negative attention to the body w...
Blood lactate accumulation in top level swimmers following competition
The Journal of sports medicine and physical fitness, 1993
The purposes of this study were to evaluate the significance of blood lactate values after compet... more The purposes of this study were to evaluate the significance of blood lactate values after competitions and the blood lactate-swimming speed relationship to swimming performances. Auricular blood samples (N = 421) were collected in 203 top level Italian swimmers (116 males and 87 females) at the end of competitions performed in a 25 m swimming pool. The distribution of all lactate values differed between males and females. The lowest lactate values occurred in swimmers performing the longest distances both in males (1500 m) and females (800 m). In swimmers performing freestyle events a relationship between V-4 mM (swimming speed at 4 mmol/l blood lactate value) and competition velocities was observed, in males, at 200, 400 and 1500 m and, in females, at 400 and 800 m. The predicted velocity corresponding to the competition lactate value assessed by the individual blood lactate-swimming speed relationship was found to be highly related to the actual competition velocity. Results sugg...
Nociceptive electrical stimuli were applied to the sural nerve during hypnotically-suggested anal... more Nociceptive electrical stimuli were applied to the sural nerve during hypnotically-suggested analgesia in the left lower limb of 18 highly susceptible subjects. During this procedure, the verbally reported pain threshold, the nociceptive flexion (RIII) reflex and late somatosensory evoked potentials were investigated in parallel with autonomic responses and the spontaneous electroencephalogram (EEG). The hypnotic suggestion of analgesia induced a significant increase in pain threshold in all the selected subjects. All the subjects showed large changes (i.e., by 20% or more) in the amplitudes of their RIII reflexes during hypnotic analgesia by comparison with control conditions. Although the extent of the increase in pain threshold was similar in all the subjects, two distinct patterns of modulation of the RIII reflex were observed during the hypnotic analgesia: in 11 subjects (subgroup 1), a strong inhibition of the reflex was observed whereas in the other seven subjects (subgroup 2) there was a strong facilitation of the reflex. All the subjects in both subgroups displayed similar decreases in the amplitude of late somatosensory evoked cerebral potentials during the hypnotic analgesia. No modification in the autonomic parameters or the EEG was observed. These data suggest that different strategies of modulation can be operative during effective hypnotic analgesia and that these are subject-dependent. Although all subjects may shift their attention away from the painful stimulus (which could explain the decrease of the late somatosensory evoked potentials), some of them inhibit their motor reaction to the stimulus at the spinal level, while in others, in contrast, this reaction is facilitated.
Response of Cat Cortical Neurons to Position and Movement of the Femur
Somatosensory & Motor Research, 1996
The contribution of joint afferents to the response of cortical neurons in area 3a to mechanical ... more The contribution of joint afferents to the response of cortical neurons in area 3a to mechanical stimulation of the contralateral hindlimb was evaluated in cats anesthetized with sodium pentobarbital and paralyzed with pancuronium bromide. The hindlimb projection to the pericruciate cortex was established by recording the evoked potentials to electrical stimulation of the sciatic nerve and some of its branches, the bicepssemitendinosus and the quadratus femoris. Out of 169 neurons, 63 responded exclusively to cutaneous stimuli (superficial), whereas the others could be activated by local pressure of hindlimb muscles and/or by joint rotation (deep). Deep neurons were classified as slowly adapting (SA) or rapidly adapting (RA) units. In the neurons responding exclusively to joint rotation, the site of the receptive field could not be identified with certainty. In 13 deep neurons, their firing was affected by rotation of multiple joints of the contralateral hindlimb. In an attempt to identify the source of activation of cortical neurons, partial denervations and muscle disconnections were performed in five animals to isolate and stimulate the hip capsule. In these preparations, in 14 of 15 cortical neurons the source of activation was localized in the periarticular muscles, with no response to mechanical stimulation of the joint capsule. Only one neuron (SA) could be selectively excited by punctate pressure on the hip capsule. Our results suggest that in neurons of area 3a of the cat, the information about the position of the femur relies mainly on muscle afferents.
Electroencephalographic Desynchronization during Deep Sleep after Destruction of Midbrain-Limbic Pathways in the Cat
Science, 1963
Lesions which interrupt the ascending limb of the midbrain-limbic circuit in the cat at different... more Lesions which interrupt the ascending limb of the midbrain-limbic circuit in the cat at different levels, or which even destroy it completely, do not prevent electroencephalographic desynchronization at the beginning of periods of deep sleep, nor do they affect the maintenance of desynchronization throughout the sleep episodes. The pontine mechanisms responsible for these electroencephalographic patterns can apparently exert their influence through ascending pathways other than those directly impinging on the hypothalamus and the limbic system.
Hypnotizability Modulates the Cardiovascular Correlates of Subjective Relaxation
International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 2012
Mean values and the spectral variability of heart rate (HRV), blood pressure, and skin blood flow... more Mean values and the spectral variability of heart rate (HRV), blood pressure, and skin blood flow were studied in high and low hypnotizable subjects during simple relaxation. Similar subjective relaxation was reported by highs and lows. A parasympathetic prevalence (indicated by a higher High-Frequency component of HRV and a lower High/Low-Frequency ratio) and lower renin-angiotensin activity (indicated by a lower Very-Low-Frequency component of HRV) could be attributed to highs with respect to lows. Hypnotizability did not affect blood pressure and its variability and modulated the skin blood flow across the session only in lows. The findings confirm that relaxation cannot be defined solely on cardiovascular parameters and also indicate that hypnotizability modulates cardiovascular activity during simple relaxation and suggest it may have a protective role against cardiovascular disease.
The effects of two intensities of formalin pain on behaviour and /3-Endorphin (fl-EP) concentrati... more The effects of two intensities of formalin pain on behaviour and /3-Endorphin (fl-EP) concentration in the brain and pituitary were studied in male and female rats. The animals were familiarized with the Hole-Board apparatus for 3 days, and then, after a subcutaneous injection of formalin (50 /zl, 0.1 or 10%) or Sham-injection (Control) in the hindpaw, they were tested in the Hole-Board for 60 min. Licking, Flexing and Paw-Jerk of the injected limb were recorded, fl-EP concentration was determined in the hypothalamus (HYP), the periaqueductal gray matter (PAG), the anterior pituitary (AP) and the neurointermediate lobe (NIL). Licking and Flexing durations were greater in females than males only with formalin 10%. Sex differences in /3-EP concentration between the Control groups were found in all tissues except the HYP; /~-EP levels were higher in females in the PAG and NIL, but greater in the AP in males, fl-EP concentration increased in males in the HYP and NIL with formalin 10%; in females, a decrease was found in the HYP with formalin 0.1%. The present results suggest that: (a) there are differences between males and females in the responses to formalin pain, and the nature (pattern and duration) of the sex differences varies according to the pain intensity; (b) there are differences in /3-EP concentration between the two sexes in control animals, and male and female rats also exhibit differences in the modifications of /3-EP in response to formalin-induced pain.
Possible role of the Gray's behavioral inhibition system in the greater efficacy of pleasant than unpleasant imagery in subjects with high hypnotizability
Paradoxical experience of hypnotic analgesia in low hypnotizable fibromyalgic patients
Archives italiennes de biologie, 2008
The study investigated the differences in pain perception in highly (Highs) and low (Lows) hypnot... more The study investigated the differences in pain perception in highly (Highs) and low (Lows) hypnotizable patients with chronic benign pain undergoing hypnotic suggestions of analgesia. Self reports of pain intensity were collected in different groups of fibromyalgic patients: (1) Highs and Lows during pre-hypnosis, neutral hypnosis, suggestions for analgesia, posthypnotic conditions; (2) Lows during suggestions for analgesia administered after a mental stress instead of neutral hypnosis; (3) healthy Lows receiving nociceptive stimulation during hypnotic relaxation and suggestions of analgesia. The results showed that Highs and Lows differed in their response to suggestions, but significant analgesia was reported also by Lows. These individuals did not report any difference in pain perception between the sessions including mental stress and hypnotic relaxation. No change in pain perception was observed in healthy Lows during nociceptive stimulation associated with relaxation and sugge...
1. The activity of slowly adapting joint receptors was recorded from fibers of the posterior arti... more 1. The activity of slowly adapting joint receptors was recorded from fibers of the posterior articular nerve of the hip in deeply anesthetized cats. The static stimulus was any position of the femur maintained at least 2 min after passive displacement. Most of the fibers are active in all the positions where the femur may be placed. Modulation in the discharge frequency occurs in any axis of displacement, and higher activity is recorded at extreme positions. The maximal discharge may be reached in several positions of the femur far away from one another. 2. Adaptation to static stimuli occurs in all the receptors. Joint receptors fire at very regular, steady rates; the mean coefficient of variation was 0.079. 3. In most of the receptors, when the femur is displaced along a single axis, the frequency of discharge varies as a monotonic function of joint position. This relationship could be described either by linear and logarithmic or by linear and power functions, according to the cr...
International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 2020
Fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) degrades the endogenous endocannabinoid (eCB) anandamide and mi... more Fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) degrades the endogenous endocannabinoid (eCB) anandamide and might be involved in the response to suggestions of analgesia in subjects with high hypnotizability scores (highs). Since the A allele of the FAAH C385A polymorphism (rs324420) is associated with lower FAAH activity, it was studied in 21 highs, 66 low hypnotizable individuals (lows), and 172 individuals not selected for hypnotizability (controls) representing the general population. No significant difference was observed among groups, but the A allele frequency showed a significant trend to increase from lows to controls and from controls to highs. Since eCB small differences can be amplified by eCB interactions with other neurotransmitters, a contribution of the FAAH polymorphism to the highs' analgesia should not be excluded.
Can interoceptive sensitivity provide information on the difference in the perceptual mechanisms of recurrent and chronic pain? Part I. A retrospective clinical study related to multidimensional pain assessment
Scandinavian Journal of Pain
Objectives Although neurobiological research has shown that interoception plays a role in the per... more Objectives Although neurobiological research has shown that interoception plays a role in the perception of pain and its chronification, the relationship between interoceptive sensitivity and pain has not been definitively confirmed by clinical studies. The aim of this study was therefore to better understand the relationship between interoceptive sensitivity, somatization, and clinical pain, and to identify any differences in the interoceptive sensitivity of patients with recurrent vs. chronic pain. Methods Scores from 43 Chronic pain subjects, assessed using ICD-11 Criteria; 42 healthy subjects (without pain or psychiatric disorders); and 38 recurrent pain subjects on the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA), Body Perception Questionnaire (BPQ-SF), Somatosensory amplification scale (SSAS), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-15), Symptom Checklist-Revised (SCL-90-R), and Italian Pain Questionnaire (IPQ) were compared. Results Negative attention to the body w...
Blood lactate accumulation in top level swimmers following competition
The Journal of sports medicine and physical fitness, 1993
The purposes of this study were to evaluate the significance of blood lactate values after compet... more The purposes of this study were to evaluate the significance of blood lactate values after competitions and the blood lactate-swimming speed relationship to swimming performances. Auricular blood samples (N = 421) were collected in 203 top level Italian swimmers (116 males and 87 females) at the end of competitions performed in a 25 m swimming pool. The distribution of all lactate values differed between males and females. The lowest lactate values occurred in swimmers performing the longest distances both in males (1500 m) and females (800 m). In swimmers performing freestyle events a relationship between V-4 mM (swimming speed at 4 mmol/l blood lactate value) and competition velocities was observed, in males, at 200, 400 and 1500 m and, in females, at 400 and 800 m. The predicted velocity corresponding to the competition lactate value assessed by the individual blood lactate-swimming speed relationship was found to be highly related to the actual competition velocity. Results sugg...
Nociceptive electrical stimuli were applied to the sural nerve during hypnotically-suggested anal... more Nociceptive electrical stimuli were applied to the sural nerve during hypnotically-suggested analgesia in the left lower limb of 18 highly susceptible subjects. During this procedure, the verbally reported pain threshold, the nociceptive flexion (RIII) reflex and late somatosensory evoked potentials were investigated in parallel with autonomic responses and the spontaneous electroencephalogram (EEG). The hypnotic suggestion of analgesia induced a significant increase in pain threshold in all the selected subjects. All the subjects showed large changes (i.e., by 20% or more) in the amplitudes of their RIII reflexes during hypnotic analgesia by comparison with control conditions. Although the extent of the increase in pain threshold was similar in all the subjects, two distinct patterns of modulation of the RIII reflex were observed during the hypnotic analgesia: in 11 subjects (subgroup 1), a strong inhibition of the reflex was observed whereas in the other seven subjects (subgroup 2) there was a strong facilitation of the reflex. All the subjects in both subgroups displayed similar decreases in the amplitude of late somatosensory evoked cerebral potentials during the hypnotic analgesia. No modification in the autonomic parameters or the EEG was observed. These data suggest that different strategies of modulation can be operative during effective hypnotic analgesia and that these are subject-dependent. Although all subjects may shift their attention away from the painful stimulus (which could explain the decrease of the late somatosensory evoked potentials), some of them inhibit their motor reaction to the stimulus at the spinal level, while in others, in contrast, this reaction is facilitated.
Response of Cat Cortical Neurons to Position and Movement of the Femur
Somatosensory & Motor Research, 1996
The contribution of joint afferents to the response of cortical neurons in area 3a to mechanical ... more The contribution of joint afferents to the response of cortical neurons in area 3a to mechanical stimulation of the contralateral hindlimb was evaluated in cats anesthetized with sodium pentobarbital and paralyzed with pancuronium bromide. The hindlimb projection to the pericruciate cortex was established by recording the evoked potentials to electrical stimulation of the sciatic nerve and some of its branches, the bicepssemitendinosus and the quadratus femoris. Out of 169 neurons, 63 responded exclusively to cutaneous stimuli (superficial), whereas the others could be activated by local pressure of hindlimb muscles and/or by joint rotation (deep). Deep neurons were classified as slowly adapting (SA) or rapidly adapting (RA) units. In the neurons responding exclusively to joint rotation, the site of the receptive field could not be identified with certainty. In 13 deep neurons, their firing was affected by rotation of multiple joints of the contralateral hindlimb. In an attempt to identify the source of activation of cortical neurons, partial denervations and muscle disconnections were performed in five animals to isolate and stimulate the hip capsule. In these preparations, in 14 of 15 cortical neurons the source of activation was localized in the periarticular muscles, with no response to mechanical stimulation of the joint capsule. Only one neuron (SA) could be selectively excited by punctate pressure on the hip capsule. Our results suggest that in neurons of area 3a of the cat, the information about the position of the femur relies mainly on muscle afferents.
Electroencephalographic Desynchronization during Deep Sleep after Destruction of Midbrain-Limbic Pathways in the Cat
Science, 1963
Lesions which interrupt the ascending limb of the midbrain-limbic circuit in the cat at different... more Lesions which interrupt the ascending limb of the midbrain-limbic circuit in the cat at different levels, or which even destroy it completely, do not prevent electroencephalographic desynchronization at the beginning of periods of deep sleep, nor do they affect the maintenance of desynchronization throughout the sleep episodes. The pontine mechanisms responsible for these electroencephalographic patterns can apparently exert their influence through ascending pathways other than those directly impinging on the hypothalamus and the limbic system.
Hypnotizability Modulates the Cardiovascular Correlates of Subjective Relaxation
International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 2012
Mean values and the spectral variability of heart rate (HRV), blood pressure, and skin blood flow... more Mean values and the spectral variability of heart rate (HRV), blood pressure, and skin blood flow were studied in high and low hypnotizable subjects during simple relaxation. Similar subjective relaxation was reported by highs and lows. A parasympathetic prevalence (indicated by a higher High-Frequency component of HRV and a lower High/Low-Frequency ratio) and lower renin-angiotensin activity (indicated by a lower Very-Low-Frequency component of HRV) could be attributed to highs with respect to lows. Hypnotizability did not affect blood pressure and its variability and modulated the skin blood flow across the session only in lows. The findings confirm that relaxation cannot be defined solely on cardiovascular parameters and also indicate that hypnotizability modulates cardiovascular activity during simple relaxation and suggest it may have a protective role against cardiovascular disease.
The effects of two intensities of formalin pain on behaviour and /3-Endorphin (fl-EP) concentrati... more The effects of two intensities of formalin pain on behaviour and /3-Endorphin (fl-EP) concentration in the brain and pituitary were studied in male and female rats. The animals were familiarized with the Hole-Board apparatus for 3 days, and then, after a subcutaneous injection of formalin (50 /zl, 0.1 or 10%) or Sham-injection (Control) in the hindpaw, they were tested in the Hole-Board for 60 min. Licking, Flexing and Paw-Jerk of the injected limb were recorded, fl-EP concentration was determined in the hypothalamus (HYP), the periaqueductal gray matter (PAG), the anterior pituitary (AP) and the neurointermediate lobe (NIL). Licking and Flexing durations were greater in females than males only with formalin 10%. Sex differences in /3-EP concentration between the Control groups were found in all tissues except the HYP; /~-EP levels were higher in females in the PAG and NIL, but greater in the AP in males, fl-EP concentration increased in males in the HYP and NIL with formalin 10%; in females, a decrease was found in the HYP with formalin 0.1%. The present results suggest that: (a) there are differences between males and females in the responses to formalin pain, and the nature (pattern and duration) of the sex differences varies according to the pain intensity; (b) there are differences in /3-EP concentration between the two sexes in control animals, and male and female rats also exhibit differences in the modifications of /3-EP in response to formalin-induced pain.
Possible role of the Gray's behavioral inhibition system in the greater efficacy of pleasant than unpleasant imagery in subjects with high hypnotizability
Paradoxical experience of hypnotic analgesia in low hypnotizable fibromyalgic patients
Archives italiennes de biologie, 2008
The study investigated the differences in pain perception in highly (Highs) and low (Lows) hypnot... more The study investigated the differences in pain perception in highly (Highs) and low (Lows) hypnotizable patients with chronic benign pain undergoing hypnotic suggestions of analgesia. Self reports of pain intensity were collected in different groups of fibromyalgic patients: (1) Highs and Lows during pre-hypnosis, neutral hypnosis, suggestions for analgesia, posthypnotic conditions; (2) Lows during suggestions for analgesia administered after a mental stress instead of neutral hypnosis; (3) healthy Lows receiving nociceptive stimulation during hypnotic relaxation and suggestions of analgesia. The results showed that Highs and Lows differed in their response to suggestions, but significant analgesia was reported also by Lows. These individuals did not report any difference in pain perception between the sessions including mental stress and hypnotic relaxation. No change in pain perception was observed in healthy Lows during nociceptive stimulation associated with relaxation and sugge...
1. The activity of slowly adapting joint receptors was recorded from fibers of the posterior arti... more 1. The activity of slowly adapting joint receptors was recorded from fibers of the posterior articular nerve of the hip in deeply anesthetized cats. The static stimulus was any position of the femur maintained at least 2 min after passive displacement. Most of the fibers are active in all the positions where the femur may be placed. Modulation in the discharge frequency occurs in any axis of displacement, and higher activity is recorded at extreme positions. The maximal discharge may be reached in several positions of the femur far away from one another. 2. Adaptation to static stimuli occurs in all the receptors. Joint receptors fire at very regular, steady rates; the mean coefficient of variation was 0.079. 3. In most of the receptors, when the femur is displaced along a single axis, the frequency of discharge varies as a monotonic function of joint position. This relationship could be described either by linear and logarithmic or by linear and power functions, according to the cr...
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