Brain-heart pathways to blood pressure-related hypoalgesia
High blood pressure (BP) is associated with reduced pain sensitivity, known as BP-related hypoalgesia. The underlying neural mechanisms remain uncertain, yet arterial baroreceptor signaling, occurring at cardiac systole, is implicated. We examined normotensives using functional neuroimaging (fMRI) and pain stimulation during distinct phases of the cardiac cycle to test the hypothesized neural mediation of baroreceptor-induced attenuation of pain