QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

HOME  |   SEARCH  |   ARCHIVE  |   SUBSCRIBE  |   CONTACT  |   HELP

The Journal of Neuroscience, September 23, 2009, 29(38):11745-11752; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1224-09.2009

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Supplemental Data Submit an eLetter Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Google Scholar Articles by Laverdure-Dupont, D. Articles by Lavigne, G. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Laverdure-Dupont, D. Articles by Lavigne, G.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Behavioral/Systems/Cognitive
Changes in Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Associated with Placebo-Induced Expectations and Analgesia

Danièle Laverdure-Dupont,^1,3 Pierre Rainville,² Jacques Montplaisir,³ and Gilles Lavigne^2,3

¹Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine and ²Departments of Stomatology and Oral Health, Faculty of Dental Medicine, University of Montréal, Montréal, Québec H3T 1J4, Canada, and ³Centre d'étude du Sommeil et des Rythmes Biologiques, Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur, Montréal H4J 1C5, Canada

Correspondence should be addressed to Danièle Laverdure-Dupont, Centre d'étude du Sommeil et des Rythmes Biologiques, Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur de Montréal, 5400 boulevard Gouin Ouest, Montréal, QC H4J 1C5, Canada. Email: daniele.laverdure-dupont{at}umontreal.ca

The experience of a sensory event is extensively shaped by past experience and expectations. Placebo analgesia, one of the most studied models of expectation-mediated effects, can be induced by suggestion of analgesia and conditioning. The present study examined the possibility that sleep might contribute to the consolidation of new expectations and consequently influence the generation of expectation-mediated placebo effects. Strong expectations of analgesia were generated before sleep by conditioning manipulations wherein the intensity of thermal pain stimulation was surreptitiously reduced after the application of a topical placebo cream. Expectations and placebo analgesic effects were measured the following morning and compared with those of a control daytime group without sleep. Although placebo effects were observed in both groups, correlation analysis suggests that the mediating effect of expectations on placebo responses was strongest in the overnight group. Moreover, after exposure to a convincing analgesia experience, the relative duration of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep decreased in subjects showing higher analgesic expectations and placebo responses the next morning. In a third group exposed to less consistent analgesic experiences before sleep, expectations reported in the morning were comparable with other groups. However, expectations were positively correlated with REM sleep and did not emerge as a significant mediator of the analgesic effect. Together, these findings show that sleep-related processes may influence the association between expectations and placebo analgesia and that REM sleep can predict placebo-induced expectations of pain relief. However, equivocal previous experience with treatments may significantly alter the relationship between relief expectation, REM sleep, and placebo effects.

---

Received March 9, 2009; revised July 9, 2009; accepted Aug. 7, 2009.

Correspondence should be addressed to Danièle Laverdure-Dupont, Centre d'étude du Sommeil et des Rythmes Biologiques, Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur de Montréal, 5400 boulevard Gouin Ouest, Montréal, QC H4J 1C5, Canada. Email: daniele.laverdure-dupont{at}umontreal.ca

Home  |   Search  |   Archive  |   Subscribe  |   Contact  |   Help