Figure 4.

Pain intensity and control-related activations in right alPFC. a, “Control believers” showed a greater difference in activation between self-controlled and externally controlled pain in right anterolateral prefrontal cortex area [yellow; p < 0.001; minimum cluster extent, 10 voxels; peak voxel coordinates of (36, 48, 21); ***p < 0.001]. This activation cluster overlapped with the region that was negatively correlated with subjective pain intensity [red; p < 0.001; minimum cluster extent, 10 voxels; peak voxel coordinates of (36, 48, 15)]. The results are superimposed on the mean structural scan of the 12 participants. b, The activation in right alPFC for self versus external control of pain correlated highly significantly (r = 0.94; p < 0.001) with the general belief of the participants to have control over their lives. c, When pain was externally controlled, right alPFC activation was negatively correlated with control belief (r = −0.73; p < 0.01). d, In contrast, control belief did not have a significant impact on the activation of this region when the pain was controllable (r = 0.1).