Journal of pain research
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Journal of pain research · Jan 2008
Manipulation of pain catastrophizing: An experimental study of healthy participants.
Pain catastrophizing is associated with the pain experience; however, causation has not been established. Studies which specifically manipulate catastrophizing are necessary to establish causation. The present study enrolled 100 healthy individuals. ⋯ This study suggests catastrophizing may be difficult to manipulate through experimental pain procedures and repetition of specific catastrophizing statements was not sufficient to change levels of catastrophizing. Additionally, pain tolerance and pain intensity did not differ by group assignment. This study has implications for future studies attempting to experimentally manipulate pain catastrophizing.
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Journal of pain research · Jan 2008
Noxious counterirritation in patients with advanced osteoarthritis of the knee reduces MCC but not SII pain generators: A combined use of MEG and EEG.
CHRONIC PAIN IS MAINLY A RESULT OF TWO PROCESSES: peripheral and central sensitization, which can result in neuroplastic changes. Previous psychophysical studies suggested a decrease of the so-called pain-inhibiting-pain effect (DNIC) in chronic pain patients. We aimed to study the DNIC effect on the neuronal level using magnetoencephalography and electroencephalography in 12 patients suffering from advanced unilateral knee osteoarthritis (OA). ⋯ Although the patients did not report a reduction of electrical pain perception, the cingulate gyrus showed a decrease of activation during provoked OA pain, while activity in the secondary somatosensory cortex did not change. Based on much stronger DNIC induction at comparable intensities of an acute counterirritant pain in healthy subjects this result suggests a deficit of DNIC in OA patients. We suggest that the strength of DNIC is subject to neuronal plasticity of descending inhibitory pain systems and diminishes during the development of a chronic pain condition.