The modulation of pain in reward processing is reflected by increased P300 and delta oscillation

Xingyao Li; Xianzhen Zhou; Hong Zheng; Chenbo Wang

doi:10.1016/j.bandc.2023.105972

The modulation of pain in reward processing is reflected by increased P300 and delta oscillation

Brain Cogn. 2023 Jun:168:105972. doi: 10.1016/j.bandc.2023.105972. Epub 2023 Apr 18.

Authors

Xingyao Li¹, Xianzhen Zhou², Hong Zheng³, Chenbo Wang⁴

Affiliations

¹ Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China; Institute of Brain and Education Innovation, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.
² Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China; Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Germany.
³ Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China; Shanghai Changning Mental Health Center, Shanghai, China. Electronic address: zhhmm2@163.com.
⁴ Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China; Institute of Brain and Education Innovation, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China. Electronic address: cbwang@psy.ecnu.edu.cn.

PMID: 37079997
DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2023.105972

Abstract

Pain elicits the desire for a reward to alleviate the unpleasant sensation. This may be a consequence of facilitated neural activities in the reward circuit. However, the temporal modulation of pain on reward processing remains unclear. We addressed this issue by recording electroencephalogram when participants received win or loss feedback in a simple gambling task. Pain treatment was conducted on 33 participants with topical capsaicin cream and on 33 participants with hand cream as a control. Results showed that pain generally increased the P300 amplitude for both types of feedback but did not affect feedback-related negativity (FRN). A significant interaction effect of treatment (painful, non-painful) and outcome (win, loss) was observed on delta oscillation as pain only enhanced the power of win feedback. In addition, the FRN and theta oscillation responded more to loss feedback, but this effect was unaffected by pain. These findings indicate that pain may enhance secondary value representation and evaluation processes of rewards, but does not influence primary distinction of reward or reward expectation. The temporal unfolding of how pain affects reward-related neural activities highlights the prominent impact of pain on high-level cognitive processes associated with reward.

Keywords: Delta oscillation; EEG; Feedback; P300; Pain; Reward.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Electroencephalography
Evoked Potentials*
Feedback, Psychological
Gambling* / psychology
Humans
Pain
Reward