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Abstract #3781

fMRI Mapping of Cognitive Brain Networks Involved in Perceptual Bias

Manyoel Lim1, Christopher O'Grady1,2,3, Mary Lynch4,5, Steven Beyea3,6,7,8, and Javeria Ali Hashmi1,7,9

1Brain Networks & Neurophysiology Lab, Halifax, NS, Canada, 2Department of Research, Nova Scotia Health Authority, Halifax, NS, Canada, 3Biomedical Translational Imaging Centre, Halifax, NS, Canada, 4Department of Anesthesia, pain management, and perioperative medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada, 5Pain Management Unit, QEII Health Sciences Centre, Halifax, NS, Canada, 6School of Biomedical Engineering, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada, 7Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada, 8Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada, 9Department of Medical Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada

Prior expectations are critical in the formation of perceptions around phenomona such as pain. This study uses functional MRI to elucidate regions associated with both top-down and bottom-up aspects of pain perception, finding a network of higher-cortical regions for the former and primarily sensory regions for the latter. Additionally, bias towards cues rather than actual pain stimuli was both hypothesized and observed. The findings therefore shed light on the physiological basis of neural activation behind the complex and highly-biased formation of pain perceptions.


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