• Karni Ginzburg, Iftah Biran, AryehItay GoorIGPain Management Center, Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, and Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel., Noga Tsur, and Ruth Defrin.
• The Bob Shapell School of Social Work, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
• J. Pers. Disord. 2018 Oct 1; 32 (5): 618-635.

AbstractStudies indicate that individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) often demonstrate attenuated pain perception, termed hypoalgesia. This study examines the hypothesis that body awareness moderates the association between BPD and pain perception. Participants consisted of 46 women diagnosed with BPD and 47 healthy controls. Sensory testing included the measurement of heat-pain thresholds, ratings of suprathreshold stimuli, measurement of temperature evoking moderate pain, and temporal summation of noxious mechanical stimuli. Body awareness was assessed by a self-report questionnaire. As hypothesized, among subjects with low levels of body awareness, those with BPD demonstrated hypoalgesia as manifested in their lower suprathreshold pain ratings and moderate pain evoked by higher temperature, in comparison with the controls. Among those with high levels of body awareness, BPD subjects demonstrated increased reactivity to pain as manifested in their higher pain ratings and moderate pain evoked by lower temperature, in comparison with the controls.

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