Title |
Combined neuromodulatory interventions in acute experimental pain: assessment of melatonin and non-invasive brain stimulation
|
---|---|
Published in |
Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, March 2015
|
DOI | 10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00077 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Nádia Regina Jardim da Silva, Gabriela Laste, Alícia Deitos, Luciana Cadore Stefani, Gustavo Cambraia-Canto, Iraci L. S. Torres, Andre R. Brunoni, Felipe Fregni, Wolnei Caumo |
Abstract |
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and melatonin can effectively treat pain. Given their potentially complementary mechanisms of action, their combination could have a synergistic effect. Thus, we tested the hypothesis that compared to the control condition and melatonin alone, tDCS combined with melatonin would have a greater effect on pain modulatory effect, as assessed by quantitative sensory testing (QST) and by the pain level during the Conditioned Pain Modulation (CPM)-task. Furthermore, the combined treatment would have a greater cortical excitability effect as indicated by the transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and on the serum BDNF level. Healthy males (n = 20), (aged 18-40 years), in a blinded, placebo-controlled, crossover, clinical trial, were randomized into three groups: sublingual melatonin (0.25 mg/kg) + a-tDCS, melatonin (0.25 mg/kg) + sham-(s)-tDCS, or sublingual placebo+sham-(s)-tDCS. Anodal stimulation (2 mA, 20 min) was applied over the primary motor cortex. There was a significant difference in the heat pain threshold (°C) for melatonin+a-tDCS vs. placebo+s-tDCS (mean difference: 4.86, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.9 to 8.63) and melatonin+s-tDCS vs. placebo+s-tDCS (mean: 5.16, 95% CI: 0.84 to 8.36). There was no difference between melatonin+s-tDCS and melatonin+a-tDCS (mean difference: 0.29, 95% CI: -3.72 to 4.23). The mean change from the baseline on amplitude of motor evocate potential (MEP) was significantly higher in the melatonin+a-tDCS (-19.96% ± 5.2) compared with melatonin+s-tDCS group (-1.36% ± 5.35) and with placebo+s-tDCS group (3.61% ± 10.48), respectively (p < 0.05 for both comparisons). While melatonin alone or combined with a-tDCS did not significantly affect CPM task result, and serum BDNF level. The melatonin effectively reduced pain; however, its association with a-tDCS did not present an additional modulatory effect on acute induced pain. |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Spain | 1 | <1% |
Denmark | 1 | <1% |
Brazil | 1 | <1% |
Unknown | 108 | 97% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Master | 22 | 20% |
Researcher | 18 | 16% |
Student > Ph. D. Student | 11 | 10% |
Student > Bachelor | 11 | 10% |
Student > Postgraduate | 6 | 5% |
Other | 21 | 19% |
Unknown | 22 | 20% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Medicine and Dentistry | 32 | 29% |
Neuroscience | 20 | 18% |
Nursing and Health Professions | 9 | 8% |
Psychology | 6 | 5% |
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 3 | 3% |
Other | 9 | 8% |
Unknown | 32 | 29% |