Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston University

This thesis deals with a potential interaction between the vestibular system and the phenomenon of central pain.  I provide behavioural and magnetoencephalographic (MEG) evidence that cold caloric vestibular stimulation (CVS) can alleviate central pain in some sufferers. I argue that activation of the parieto-insular vestibular cortex (PIVC) in central pain patients can act via the parabrachial nucleus in the brainstem to rebalance the integration of thermosensory input and suppress the perception of pain at the anterior cingulated cortex (ACC).  This is consistent with the thermosensory disinhibition hypothesis, which proposes that central pain is a thermoregulatory disorder which results from the loss of the central inhibition of pain by cooling.  I go on to propose that the PIVC and anatomically adjacent interoceptive cortex in the dorsal posterior insula (dpIns) share a number of similarities and that PIVC is best viewed as part of a wider interoceptive system. Based on the MEG data I suggest that low threshold C mechanoceptors may play a role in tactile allodynia in central pain.  I also use the MEG data to propose that the disruption of interoceptive input to the dpIns could lead to tactile afferents priming the primary motor cortex to respond more rapidly to subsequent ACC activation.  This effect may be mediated via a corollary branch of interoceptive input that runs not to the dpIns but to the fundus of the central sulcus. The final chapter contains additional research into the issue of body image, via investigations into apotemnophilia.  I provide MEG and other evidence suggesting that it is a disorder of the right parietal lobe.  I then propose a neurological explanation for a condition previously thought to be entirely psychological.

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Chui Yuk Lan. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 81-84). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / ABSTRACT(ENGLISH AND CHINESE VERSION) --- p.ii / ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS --- p.iv / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.v / LIST OF TABLES --- p.viii / LIST OF FIGURES --- p.xi / LIST OF APPENDICES --- p.xiii / Chapter CHAPTER I - --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Weak Central Coherence Theory --- p.1 / Superior Spatial Hypothesis --- p.4 / Superior Segmentation Hypothesis --- p.4 / Global Precedence Hypothesis --- p.5 / Perceptual Span Hypothesis --- p.5 / Main Study-Global and Local Processing Study --- p.6 / Eye Movement Study --- p.10 / Purposes of the Present Study --- p.11 / Chapter CHAPTER II - --- GLOBAL-LOCAL PROCESSING STUDY: METHOD --- p.12 / Participants --- p.12 / Apparatus and Setting --- p.12 / Stimuli --- p.13 / Design and Procedure --- p.14 / Chapter CHAPTER III - --- GLOBAL-LOCAL PROCESSING STUDY: RESULTS --- p.19 / Age and IQ --- p.19 / Speed-Accuracy Trade Off --- p.19 / Performance Indices --- p.19 / Analyses Testing Global Precedence Hypothesis --- p.21 / Analyses Testing Group Difference on Global/Local Precedence --- p.21 / Analyses Testing Group Difference on Global-To-Local Interference --- p.24 / Analyses Testing Group Difference on Local-To-Global Interference --- p.25 / Analyses Testing the Perceptual Span Hypothesis --- p.39 / Chapter CHAPTER IV - --- GLOBAL-LOCAL PROCESSING STUDY: DISCUSSION --- p.45 / Implications of Incompatible Findings with Pervious Studies --- p.45 / Implications of Partial Support of Global Precedence Hypothesis --- p.47 / Interpretation of Perceptual Span Hypothesis --- p.50 / Chapter CHAPTER V - --- EYE-MOVEMENT STUDY: METHOD --- p.51 / Participants --- p.51 / Materials --- p.51 / Apparatus --- p.56 / Design and Procedure --- p.56 / Chapter CHAPTER VI - --- EYE-MOVEMENT STUDY: RESULTS --- p.62 / Age and IQ --- p.62 / Number of Objects Found in Object Search Tasks --- p.62 / Total Number of Fixations --- p.62 / Fixation Duration --- p.62 / Distance of Fixations --- p.66 / Fixations Located Outside the Screen --- p.66 / Fixations Located Within the Screen but Outside the Designated Areas --- p.66 / Number of Fixations Located Inside the Designated Areas --- p.67 / Chapter CHAPTER VII - --- EYE-MOVEMENT STUDY: DISCUSSION --- p.73 / Implications of Eye-Movement Patterns --- p.73 / Possible Explanations for Eye-Movement Patterns --- p.74 / Speculation of Faster Information Processing --- p.74 / Chapter CHAPTER VIII - --- GENERAL DISCUSSION --- p.76 / Possible Explanations of Global-Local Processing Findings --- p.76 / Relations to the Weak Central Coherence Theory --- p.77 / Limitations and Suggestions --- p.79 / REFERENCES --- p.81 / APPENDICES --- p.85

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Thesis (M.Sc. (Nursing))--Mahidol University, 1979.

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