Intact pain modulation through manipulation of controllability and expectations in aging

in European Journal of Pain (2021)

Altered regulation of negative affect in patients with fibromyalgia : a diary study

in EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PAIN (2021)

Background Fibromyalgia is characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain and often accompanied by cognitive and emotional problems. Adaptation to fibromyalgia may therefore also rely on one's ability ... [more ▼]

Background Fibromyalgia is characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain and often accompanied by cognitive and emotional problems. Adaptation to fibromyalgia may therefore also rely on one's ability to regulate emotional problems. In this study, we examined two indices of emotion regulation, that is, (a) affective instability, involving frequent large fluctuations in self-reported affect, and (b) resting heart rate variability (HRV). 45.4 years; 39 females) and 46 matched healthy controls (M-age = 44.9 years; 37 females). Heart rate was monitored under resting conditions to derive HRV. Subsequently, participants completed an electronic end-of-day diary for 14 consecutive days assessing daily levels of pain, disability, negative affect (NA) and positive affect (PA). Affective instability was operationalized as the mean square of successive differences in daily mood. Results Results indicate increased levels of NA instability and reduced levels of HRV in patients with fibromyalgia in comparison with healthy controls. Furthermore, HRV and NA instability were inversely related. Finally, in patients, higher NA instability was related to increased pain disability. Conclusions Current findings support the idea that patients with fibromyalgia are confronted with fluctuating emotions. These results may have important implications for treatment as they provide support for the use of emotion regulation skills training in patients with fibromyalgia to impact upon NA instability. Significance This study provides novel insight in the link between emotion regulation indices,that is, heart-rate variability and negative affective (NA) instability, in patients with fibromyalgia, and presents evidence for differences in both emotion regulation indices between patients with fibromyalgia and healthy people. Furthermore, results link increased NA instability with increased levels of daily disability in patients with fibromyalgia. Together, these findings offer support for a key role of emotion regulation in fibromyalgia outcomes, providing pathways for clinical practice. [less ▲]

Parental (non-)pain attending verbalizations moderate the relationship between child attention and memory bias for pain

in EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PAIN (2020), 24(9), 1797--1811

Background: 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 ... [more ▼]

Background: 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. Methods: Participants were 51 school children and one of their parents. Probability of initial fixation and gaze duration to pain were assessed using eye tracking methodology. Children performed a cold pressor task (CPT) and reported on experienced pain intensity and pain‐related fear. A 3‐minute parent–child interaction upon CPT completion allowed measurement of parental pain and non‐pain attending verbalizations. Children's pain‐related memories were elicited 2 weeks later. Results: Findings indicated that the relationship between maintained attention to pain and fear memory bias was moderated by parental non‐pain attending verbalizations such that higher gaze duration bias was positively associated with fear memory bias but only among children whose parents demonstrated low levels of non‐pain attending verbalizations. The opposite pattern was observed for children whose parents showed high levels of non‐pain attending verbalizations. No such effects were observed for child initial attention bias to pain, memory bias for pain and parental pain attending verbalizations. Conclusions: Findings highlight the importance of parental and child pain‐related variables as well as their interaction in understanding negatively biased pain‐related memories. Significance: 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. [less ▲]

Towards an integrative view of cognitive biases in pain.

in European Journal of Pain (2016), 20(8), 1201-2

General hypervigilance in fibromyalgia: one swallow does not make a summer.

in European Journal of Pain (2015), 19(4), 447-8

Pain catastrophizing influences the use and the effectiveness of distraction in schoolchildren.

in European Journal of Pain (2012), 16(2), 256-67

Distraction is an intuitive way of coping with pain and is often used in children's pain treatment programs. However, empirical evidence concerning the effectiveness of distraction is equivocal. One ... [more ▼]

Distraction is an intuitive way of coping with pain and is often used in children's pain treatment programs. However, empirical evidence concerning the effectiveness of distraction is equivocal. One potential explanation might be that distraction does not work for everyone in every situation. In the current series of studies, we examined the role of pain catastrophizing as an influencing factor of distraction effectiveness. In the first study, we investigated the use of pain coping strategies (including distraction) in schoolchildren (N = 828, aged 8-18 years) by means of a questionnaire. Results indicated that children with higher levels of pain catastrophizing reported using less distraction strategies in daily life than children with lower levels of pain catastrophizing. In the second study, a subsample (N = 81, aged 9-18 years) performed a painful cold pressor task (CPT) (12 degrees C). Participants were randomly assigned to a distraction group, in which an attention-demanding tone-detection task was performed during the CPT, or a control group, in which no distraction task was performed. Results showed that participants in the distraction group were engaged in the distraction task, and reported to have paid less attention to pain than participants in the control group. However, distraction was ineffective in reducing cold pressor pain, and even intensified the pain experience in high catastrophizing children. Caution may be warranted in using distraction as a 'one size fits all' method, especially in high catastrophizing children. [less ▲]

Distraction from pain and executive functioning: an experimental investigation of the role of inhibition, task switching and working memory.

in European Journal of Pain (2011), 15(8), 866-73

Although many studies have investigated the effectiveness of distraction as a method of pain control, the cognitive processes by which attentional re-direction is achieved, remain unclear. In this study ... [more ▼]

Although many studies have investigated the effectiveness of distraction as a method of pain control, the cognitive processes by which attentional re-direction is achieved, remain unclear. In this study the role of executive functioning abilities (inhibition, task switching and working memory) in the effectiveness of distraction is investigated. We hypothesized that the effectiveness of distraction in terms of pain reduction would be larger in participants with better executive functioning abilities. Ninety-one undergraduate students first performed executive functioning tasks, and subsequently participated in a cold pressor task (CPT). Participants were randomly assigned to (1) a distraction group, in which an attention-demanding tone-detection task was performed during the CPT, or (2) a control group, in which no distraction task was performed. Participants in the distraction group reported significantly less pain during the CPT, but the pain experience was not influenced by executive functioning abilities. However, the performance on the distraction task improved with better inhibition abilities, indicating that inhibition abilities might be important in focussing on a task despite the pain. [less ▲]

Differential physiological effects during tonic painful hand immersion tests using hot and ice water

in European Journal of Pain (2010), 14(3), 266-272

Effects of chronic intermittent restraint stress on inflammation-related pain behavior and spinal cell activation in rats.

in European Journal of Pain (2009), 13(1), 74-75