(355) Brain Mechanisms of Pressure Pain in Healthy Adolescents: A Preliminary fMRI Study

Human brain mechanisms of pain have been well studied in adults. However, similar research in adolescents is lacking. Directly extrapolating adult findings to adolescents can be problematic, given that the prefrontal circuitry, which plays an important role in modulating pain responses, remains immature until adulthood. In this ongoing study, we characterized brain responses to pressure pain in eighteen healthy adolescents between ages 13 and 17 using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Twelve ten-second noxious pressure stimuli (2.5-4kg/cm2) were applied to the participants’ left thumbnail using a pneumatic device, which reliably evoked pain experience in all subjects (on a 0-100 computerized visual analogue scale, pain intensity: mean(std)=28.00(15.78), t=7.53, p