Neural mechanism and regulation of pain affecting Metacognition

Pain, as a common physiological and psychological experience, not only affects an individual's physiological state, but also has a significant impact on cognitive functioning. However, little research has been conducted on whether pain affects higher cognitive processes, such as metacognition. On the one hand, the process of perceiving and experiencing pain is part of cognition, and painful stimuli may influence decision-making judgments compared to other stimuli by occupying part of cognitive resources; on the other hand, pain alters decision-making preferences through physiological and emotional arousal, which in turn affects the level of metacognition.Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the effects of pain on metacognition and the neural mechanisms behind it, and to explore potential modulations using three experimental designs.