Electroencephalography-Based Effects of Acute Alcohol Intake on the Pain Matrix

The effects of acute and chronic intakes of high doses of alcohol on pain perception are well known, ranging from short-term analgesic effects to long-term sensitization and polyneuropathies. The short-term analgesic effects of ethanol consumption on subjective pain perception have been well studied in the literature. Recent advances in neuroimaging allow for an insight into pain-related structures in the brain, fostering the mechanistic understanding of the processing of nociceptive input and pain. We aimed to utilize EEG, combined with standardized noxious mechanical/thermal stimulation and subjective pain testing, to research the effects of acute alcohol intake on nociceptive processing and pain perception. We recruited 12 healthy subjects in an unblinded cross-over study design and aimed at achieving a blood alcohol level of 0.1%. Our data revealed a significant reduction in subjective pain ratings to noxious thermal and mechanical stimuli after alcohol ingestion. Our EEG data revealed suppressing effects on the cortical structures responsible for processing pain, the “pain matrix”. We conclude that in addition to its analgesic effects, as expressed by the reduction in subjective pain, alcohol has a further impact on the “pain matrix” and directly affects the salience to a nociceptive stimulus.