Cognitive processes have recently received considerable attention in studies of pain. Belief systems, coping mechanisms, perceptions of control and self-efficacy, and other cognitive systems appear to play a central role in determining individual differences to painful events (Rollman, 1983; Turk, Meichenbaum & Genest, 1983; Weisenberg, 1984). The present investigation sought to examine the cognitive and behavioural relationships that are associated with individual differences in responses to painful stimuli. Sixty female undergraduate psychology students participated in the experimental pain induction procedure which used the cold pressor test as the noxious stimulation. To gain a broad assessment of the different factors that may be characteristic of differences in response to pain, tolerant subjects were contrasted with less tolerant subjects on a variety of self-report, cognitive and behavioural - facial expression - measures. As part of the assessment procedure, subjects completed measures of state anxiety, self-efficacy to withstand pain, and a questionnaire involving a retrospective analysis of cognitive techniques. Half of the subjects were interviewed regarding their cognitions concerning the cold pressor task both pre and post their immersion, and the other half were interviewed post only. Transcriptions were coded independently of pain tolerance status. Subjects' facial expressions were videotaped during the cold pressor task and coded using the Facial Action Coding System (FACS) developed by Ekman and Friesen (1978). It was hypothesized that dysfunctional cognitions, lack of effective coping activity, amplification of sensory intensity and affective discomfort and high levels of facial activity would characterize subjects who were less tolerant of the induced pain. The distribution of the endurance times to the cold pressor task confirmed past observations that subjects cluster into two major groups of high and low tolerance (Turk et al. 1983). The results confirmed the major hypotheses that there are cognitive and self-report differences between pain tolerance groups. In comparison to tolerant subjects, less tolerant subjects had lower scores of perceived self-efficacy to withstand pain, higher scores for both sensation and discomfort ratings, retrospectively reported having experienced more pain, and made more accurate estimates of their duration in the cold water. Less tolerant subjects also reported more dysfunctional cognitions during the cold pressor task and reported using effective coping techniques to a lesser extent than tolerant subjects. Major differences between the tolerance groups also appeared in the length of post-test interviews. Tolerant subjects had much lengthier interviews at the post-test than less tolerant subjects. A discriminant analysis revealed that self-efficacy beliefs during the experimental task and the length of the post-test interviews were the most important discriminators between the groups. These results highlight the role of cognition in individual differences in pain tolerance. These results also suggest that low pain tolerance subjects may be better conceptualized as being ineffective and overwhelmed in their attempts to cope with pain which supports the current notion that cognitive based therapies may be the key in managing and alleviating pain states. No support was found for the hypothesis that subjects of differing pain tolerance thresholds would be characterized by differences in facial activity. Facial actions associated with pain in the present study were similar with facial expressions in previous studies (cf. Craig & Patrick, 1985; Hyde, 1986; Swalm, 1987). Contrary to previous results (Craig & Patrick, 1985), measures of facial expression increased over exposure time similarly to self-report. High levels of facial expression were associated with low levels of self-report of coping cognitions assessed at the post-test and with shorter post-test interviews. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

Some emotional and descriptive aspects of an imagined pleasure experience were examined for low- and high-anhedonic undergraduates. Subjects were classified into low-anhedonic or high-anhedonic on the basis of scores on the.Physical Anhedonia Scale (Chapman, Chapman, & Raulin, 1976). Emotional responses were derived from scores on the Differential Emotions Scale (Izard, Dougherty, Bloxom, & Kotsch, 1974) and included anxiety items. A factor analysis was conducted for each of the two scales used and factor scores were computed. Because males scored as significantly more anhedonic than females, analyses were conducted separately for 49 dependent measures: recall of pleasant situations, average rating of pleasantness, frequency of pleasant experiences, individual situation ratings of pleasantness (maximum of 10), factor scores for 12 emotion factors, and factor scores for 24 anhedonia factors. The overall T2 for both males and females was highly significant, suggesting that low-anhedonics of both sexes differ from high-anhe-donics in their report's "regarding their emotional and experiential concomitants of the pleasure experience. The precise source of the difference was not, however, discernible. The factor structures of both the Differential Emotions Scale and the Physical Anhedonia Scale are discussed. Although the structure of the Differential Emotions Scale clearly replicates the work of Izard et al. (1974), that of the Physical Anhedonia Scale failed to be consistent. The weaknesses of the latter instrument are discussed with reference to factor analytic study. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

Increasing evidence suggests that social experiences critically determine the manner in which individuals respond to painful events. Of the variety of social determinants of pain responses, social modeling has been among the most extensively studied. Conclusive evidence is available showing that exposure to models who exhibit tolerance or intolerance for noxious electrical stimulation produces matching behaviour on the part of subjects. However, questions related to the breadth of the changes induced, and the applicability of these findings to naturally-occurring painful experiences require further investigation. The present series of studies examined some of these issues. Experiment 1 re-evaluated the impact of social modeling on sensory-decision theory (SDT) indices of the response to pain. Following a baseline pre-assessment of pain threshold and tolerance, 30 female subjects were exposed to models displaying tolerance or intolerance for the stimulation, or an inactive companion. Under conditions of influence, subjects' behaviour approximated that of the model. After these effects had been induced, subjects underwent a SDT series during which they were exposed to stimuli from low, moderate, and high levels of current intensity. Results indicated that intolerant modeling was associated with increased sensory sensitivity at noxious levels of stimulation. Tolerant modeling was not associated with differential values of sensitivity-, suggesting that previous positive findings be qualified. Experiment 2 was concerned with the effects of tolerant and intolerant modeling on overt expressive displays. Videotapes taken of subjects in Experiment 1 were presented to 15 female observers who attempted to predict the levels of current that observed subjects were experiencing. SDT analyses of observers' judgments indicated that responses to intense stimuli were more readily discriminated than responses to less intense stimuli. The behaviour of subjects exposed to a tolerant model was less discriminable than that of intolerant subjects. The behaviour of intolerants was less discriminable than that of controls. It was argued that tolerant modeling produces reductions in overt; nonvocal expressions of pain. Experiment 3 examined whether modeling effects could be obtained with naturally-occurring groups, and the relative power of pain tolerant and intolerant behaviour. 127 female undergraduates underwent a screening for pain threshold levels. In a subsequent session, subjects participated either individually, or in pairs comprised of all combinations of subjects having high and low thresholds. Unidirectional influence was observed, with low threshold subjects inducing high threshold subjects to report pain sooner, and accept fewer currents. These results indicated that pain intolerant behaviour may be a more powerful social influence than pain tolerant behaviour, probably as a result of its imperative nature. Since the modeling effect was observable among naturally-occurring groups, the generalizability of laboratory to naturally-occurring pain phenomena was supported. Relationships between measures of pain based on psychophysical judgments and overt behaviour were examined within the context of a model that suggests that inducing alterations in pain behaviour may modulate the experience of pain. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

Pain and performance anxiety (PA) are common problems among string players. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess and compare PA and prevalence rates and locations of pain in violinists, violists, cellists, and bassists. Subjects completed a questionnaire that included sections on demographics, musical background, practice habits, musculoskeletal problems, non-musculoskeletal problems, and PA. Anthropometric data were gathered on all 115 subjects. Results show that there are differences in both pain and PA across instrument groups. Violinists reported the highest number of pain sites, followed by violists, bassists, and cellists. The left shoulder was the most-often reported pain site, followed by the neck and right shoulder. Aching was the most cited term selected to describe pain. Several anthropometric indices were significantly correlated with pain, notably right thumb to index finger span in both cellists and bassists. In all instrument groups, at least one pain site was significantly correlated with one of four PA questions. Results warrant the development of intervention strategies and further study of the relationship between pain and performance anxiety.

This study examined a new model of paclitaxel-induced neuropathic pain and the effects of systemic paclitaxel on the gap junction protein subunit Cx43 and potassium inwardly-rectifying channel Kir4.1 within the dorsal root ganglia. In the new neuropathic pain model, subplantar injections of paclitaxel resulted in decreased conduction velocities of A-beta fiber compound action potentials in the sciatic (5.9%) and tibial nerves (6.8%) as well as in M (10.6%) and H (10.2%) waves. By using repeated recordings it was found that following paclitaxel injection, conduction velocities in the contralateral plantar nerve increased (9.2%). Systemic injections of paclitaxel resulted in reduced Kir4.1 immunolabeling in the dorsal root ganglia compared to vehicle injections. This reduction was observed in total labeling (32.4%) as well as in areas of intense labeling (28.7%). Reductions in overall Cx43 immunolabeling (25%) and area (25%) following systemic paclitaxel injections were not statistically significant. The results of these studies suggest that subplantar injections of paclitaxel can result in reduced peripheral nerve conduction velocities. The results also show that a unilateral neuropathy can result in contralateral changes in conduction velocities. The effects of paclitaxel on reducing Kir4.1 levels suggest that neuropathic pain caused by paclitaxel may share mechanisms in common with other types of neuropathies which show similar changes in Kir4.1 levels.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to validate the Spanish version of the Dallas Pain Questionnaire (DPQ). Not only does the DPQ offer the potential of statistical and clinical diagnostic value but also is easily interpretable across cultural lines. No such instrument has presently been validated for the Mexican-American population. A total of 81 Spanish speaking subjects participated in this study. Of these subjects, 56 were classified as chronic pain patients by nature of their medical diagnosis and duration of pain. The 25 normal subjects were family members of the chronic pain patients and members of the Northern New Mexico Hispanic community chosen at random. Hypothesis one predicted that reliability would be obtained on Spanish speaking populations based on test-retest with correlation coefficients of the items. The second hypothesis predicted that the Spanish DPQ would have content validity or consistent internal structure on those items that measure the trait or behavior of interest based upon factor analysis approaches and internal consistency measures. Hypothesis three predicted that the Spanish version of the DPQ would significantly correlate with the English version of the DPQ on all four factors. All four hypotheses were supported. The Spanish DPQ showed reliability over time based on test-retest. The statistics revealed an internally reliable test, alpha coefficient analysis and factor analysis. The validity was supported by significant correlations with the English DPQ and discrimination between chronic and nonchronic pain patients. While all four hypotheses were upheld, interpretation of the present findings should be moderated by recognition of the limitations of the studies. Future studies should test larger samples to improve confidence in the psychometric properties of the instrument. Still notable limitations of the questionnaire are that the Spanish DPQ is a form that is more accurately viewed as a global measure.

Modulation of nociceptive synaptic transmission in the spinal cord dorsal horn plays a key role in the development and maintenance of pathological pain states and chronic pain diseases. Important role in this process play Transient receptor potential Vanilloid 1 receptors (TRPV1), present on presynaptic endings of primary afferents in the superficial spinal cord dorsal horn. Changes in TRPV1 activity have significant impact on nociceptive transmission. There are number of processes that influence the function of spinal TRPV1 receptors. This work is focused on the role of protease-activated receptors type 2 (PAR2), C-C motif chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2) and the effect of chemotherapeutic drug paclitaxel in modulation of synaptic nociceptive transmission and activation of TRPV1 receptors. PAR2 receptors belong to a family of four G-protein-coupled receptors activated by proteases. The role of PAR2 receptors in pain perception is closely related to their presence in a population of dorsal root ganglion neurons, where they are also co-expressed with TRPV1. Activation of PAR2 may lead to peripheral and central sensitization. Chemokine CCL2 and its main receptor CCR2 were suggested to be an important factor in the development of neuropathic pain after peripheral nerve injury. In our study we focused on the...

In 2015 acupuncture was introduced as an alternative intervention in the management of chronic pain, at the Chronic Pain Management Clinic of Groote Schuur Hospital, a tertiary academic hospital in Cape Town, South Africa. This study is a retrospective, cross-sectional analysis that aimed to investigate several aspects of the acupuncture intervention over a 12 month period. The main outcome measure, the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), is a widely used, internationally validated questionnaire, containing pain intensity, pain interference, and total score. The main objective of this study was to determine if the acupuncture treatment lowered BPI scores after 6 to 9 intervention sessions. Additional objectives were to determine if there are any correlations between demographic and clinical factors and changes in BPI scores, and to describe the demographic and clinical characteristics of the study population. The data was obtained by folder reviews of 66 patients with chronic pain who were referred for acupuncture treatment between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2015, and attended at least one treatment session. The full treatment course (6-9 sessions) was completed by 24 patients (36,3%), with an average post treatment decrease in BPI of 3,7 points. Responders (patients who obtained 2 and more point BPI decrease) comprised 70,6% of the patients who completed treatment. Decrease in BPI scores after completion of full acupuncture treatment proved to be statistically significant (p=0.002). Factors showing strongest correlation with BPI decrease were female gender and absence of medical and psychiatric co-morbidities.

Background: Neck pain has a prevalence at 15-30 % in diffrent populations with diffrent causes like whiplash or tension in the muscle. It has proven a positive association between reduced pain and inhibiting the endorphin systems with physical activity. No recent review has been made since 2015, so there was a need to compile recent studies in the field.  Objective: Searches for litterature were made in the databses PubMed, PEDro and CINAHL to find randomized controlled studied that investigated strengthening training of the neck and the thoracal part of the back in persons with neckpain. All of the included articles were appraised by the PEDro-scale and the level of reliability was graded using GRADEstud.  Results: Six studies were included in this review with 382 participants. In one of six studies a significant between group diffrence was seen, the results should be discussed according to the studie's diffrent intervention/control groups. Three studies showed high quality and three showed moderate quality according to PEDro-scale. The grading in evidence showed that strengthening training of the neck and the thoracic back as treament for neckapin has a high level of evidence (++) to not reduce pain according to GRADEstud. The variation in population and time resulted in point deduction for lack of precision.  Conclusion: The results shows that strengthening training of the neck and the thoracic back does not reduce neckpain. Only one of six studied could show a significant between group diffrence. According to GRADEstud a high level of evidence is shown that the treatment dose not give effekt. The results of this study should be drawn with caution due to a low number of studies and the lack of precision in the interventions.