Biological psychology
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Biological psychology · Dec 2013
Do sex hormones influence emotional modulation of pain and nociception in healthy women?
Sex hormones may contribute to inter- and intra-individual differences in pain by influencing emotional modulation of pain and nociception. To study this, a well-validated picture-viewing paradigm was used to assess emotional modulation of pain and the nociceptive flexion reflex (NFR; physiologic measure of nociception) during mid-follicular, ovulatory, and late-luteal phases of the menstrual cycle in healthy normally cycling women (n=40). ⋯ Given evidence that a failure to emotionally modulate pain might be a risk factor for chronic pain, low estradiol may promote chronic pain via this mechanism. However, future research is needed to extend these findings to women with disturbances of pain, emotion, and/or sex hormones.