Behaviour research and therapy
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Human fear conditioning research since Watson's case study on "Little Albert" has vastly evolved and its impact today is reaching far beyond phobic anxiety. This review focuses on how fear conditioning research, mainly using exteroceptive conditioned stimuli (CSs) and aversive, non-noxious stimuli as unconditioned stimuli (USs), has been extended and translated to chronic pain research. ⋯ Extinction-based protocols (exposure in vivo) have been developed to reduce pain-related fear and increase daily functioning in various chronic pain disorders. Finally, we outline some challenges and future directions to further our understanding of learning mechanisms underlying the development, persistence, and treatment of chronic pain disability.