Pain-motor Integration and Chronic Pain: One Step Ahead

Publication date: Available online 24 February 2018
Source:Clinical Neurophysiology
Author(s): A. Di Santo, F. Asci, A. Suppa




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Laser evoked potential amplitude and laser-pain rating reduction during high-frequency non-noxious somatosensory stimulation

Publication date: Available online 24 February 2018
Source:Clinical Neurophysiology
Author(s): Massimiliano Valeriani, Costanza Pazzaglia, Vincenzo Rizzo, Angelo Quartarone, Catello Vollono
ObjectiveTo investigate the mechanism subtending the analgesic effect of high frequency non-painful somatosensory stimulation.MethodsLaser evoked potentials (LEPs) and laser-pain rating were obtained from healthy subjects to stimulation of different parts of the body. LEPs were recorded at baseline and during non-painful electrical stimulation of the superficial branch of the right radial nerve (RRES).ResultsRRES reduced N2/P2 LEP amplitude to right radial (F(8,10)=82.4, p<0.001), left radial (F(8,10)=22.2, p<0.001), and right ulnar (F(8,10)=7.2, p=0.008) stimulation, while the N2/P2 amplitude to left ulnar territory stimulation remained unchanged (F(8,10)=3.6, p=0.07). The laser-pain rating was reduced by RRES to bilateral radial territory stimulation (p<0.05). In a control experiment, laser-pain rating and LEPs to left foot stimulation were not modified by RRES (p>0.05).ConclusionsOur study confirms that the non-nociceptive afferents dampen the nociceptive input. The spatial pattern of this interaction suggests that, when conditioning higher frequency non-painful stimulation is used, the inhibition takes place at the spinal cord.SignificanceOur experimental design reproduces what happens when non-painful somatosensory stimuli are used to reduce pain, such as rubbing a wound or during transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. Therefore, in these situations the analgesia is likely to occur at the spinal cord level.



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Sensory Cortex Is Nonessential in Working Memory Storage

Publication date: March 2018
Source:Trends in Cognitive Sciences, Volume 22, Issue 3
Author(s): Yaoda Xu




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Editors, Contents, Cover details

Publication date: March 2018
Source:Trends in Cognitive Sciences, Volume 22, Issue 3





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Title TBA: Revising the Abstract Submission Process

Publication date: Available online 23 February 2018
Source:Trends in Cognitive Sciences
Author(s): Roni Tibon, CBU Open Science Committee, Richard Henson
Academic conferences are among the most prolific scientific activities, yet the current abstract submission and review process has serious limitations. We propose a revised process that would address these limitations, achieve some of the aims of Open Science, and stimulate discussion throughout the entire lifecycle of the scientific work.



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Local stress in the vicinity of the propagating cleavage crack tip in ferritic steel

Publication date: 15 April 2018
Source:Materials & Design, Volume 144
Author(s): Fuminori Yanagimoto, Kazuki Shibanuma, Katsuyuki Suzuki, Toshiyuki Matsumoto, Shuji Aihara
The objective of this research is to evaluate local tensile stresses in the vicinity of a propagating cleavage crack tip based on a combination of experiments and finite element analyses. Previous studies identified the local tensile stress as the most relevant factor in cleavage crack propagation and arrest behaviors in steels. However, there is no clear experimental evidence that the local tensile stress remains constant. This is because three dimensional effects are difficult to consider analytically and are thus ignored in the evaluation of local tensile stresses. Therefore, side-grooved specimens were employed to eliminate the three dimensional effect and make it possible to regard crack propagation as a two dimensional problem. Crack velocities were measured in isothermal experiments to determine local tensile stresses. Local tensile stresses were evaluated by finite element analyses for two steel samples at multiple temperatures and applied stress levels. The results show that the local tensile stresses were nearly constant for each steel. Thus, the local tensile stress can be considered the relevant material resistance property in cleavage crack propagation. This study yielded strong experimental evidence that the local fracture stress is well suited for use in describing cleavage crack propagation and arrest behavior in steels.

Graphical abstract

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Editorial Board

Publication date: 5 April 2018
Source:Materials & Design, Volume 143





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