Testing the effects of the central command on pain perception during handgrip contractions

Voluntary motor actions are associated with the presence of the central motor command, also known as central command. As reviewed by Williamson [1, 2], this “central command involves descending neural signals from higher brain centres, originally defined as ‘cortical irradiation’, capable of influencing cardiovascular responses during exercise [3]. The majority of investigations involving study of central command have typically defined central command as a ‘feed forward mechanism involving parallel activation of motor and cardiovascular centres’ [4]”. The central command, in combination with afferent feedback from the working muscles, ensures efficient movement production as well as changes in cardio-respiratory responses to the motor actions in order to increase blood flow to the working muscles and deliver the required oxygen.
The presence of central command and associated corollary discharges (ie., efferent copy) has been shown to modulate various perceptions and to play a crucial in the conscious experience of motor actions [5-10]. Surprisingly, to the best of our knowledge, the interaction between the central command and pain perception remains unknown. The aim of this study is to investigate this possible interaction between the central command and pain perception.

Faculty Supervisor:

Pierre Rainville

Student:

Partner:

Université Catholique de Louvain

Discipline:

Life Sciences

Sector:

Education

University:

Université de Montréal

Program: