European journal of pain : EJP
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The aim of this study was (a) to statistically identify distinct trajectories of pain following surgery in infants less than 6 months of age, and (b) to compare these trajectories to descriptions of chronic pain in infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). ⋯ This study has revealed two distinct pain trajectories in infants after surgery. While recovery from pain occurs within days in the typical group, the atypical group demonstrates pain for a significantly longer period, often weeks and months following surgery. This latter group adheres closely to current descriptions of chronic pain in infants.
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Children's negatively biased pain-related memories (i.e. recalling pain as being more intense or fearful than initially reported) have been recognized as a key factor in explaining child pain development. While mechanisms underlying children's pain memory development remain poorly understood, attention biases and parent language have been implicated in conceptual models. This study examined the association between child pain-related attention and memory biases and the moderating role of parental pain and non-pain attending verbalizations. ⋯ This study on child pain memories is the first to highlight that characteristics of the social context, such as parental (non-)pain-related verbalizations, as well as factors related to the intra-individual experience of pain, such as child attention bias to pain, should be studied jointly, as they interact with each other in their effect on the emergence of negatively biased memories of painful events.
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The main objective of this study was to assess pain memory as well as long-term episodic memory, both in patients with chronic pain (CP) and in asymptomatic participants (AP). ⋯ Treatments directed towards chronic pain should consider the influence of painful memories and their establishment towards long-term explicit episodic memories in patients with chronic pain, as well as the influence of cognitive-evaluative and affective-motivational variables on memory. Not causing pain while implementing a treatment whose objective is to reduce pain could reduce the probability of developing new painful memories in patients with chronic pain.
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An increasing number of studies are focusing on secondary hyperalgesia to better understand central sensitization, as this phenomenon may play an important role in persistent pain. Recent studies have shown that, compared to the classical high-frequency stimulation protocol (HFS) at 100 Hz, a protocol using 42 Hz stimulation induces a more intense and a larger area of secondary hyperalgesia (SH). ⋯ It is crucial to evaluate central sensitization adequately in humans. This study formally establishes the reliability of secondary hyperalgesia induced by electrical high-frequency stimulation. The results of this study will improve future studies investigating secondary hyperalgesia in humans.