Increasing working memory load attenuates pain in healthy volunteers but not in chronic low back pain patients

Abstract

Cognitive deficits and decreased ability to maintain high working memory loads have been well documented in chronic pain patients. The interplay between acute pain processing and working memory, and how that interaction may differ between chronic pain patients and healthy controls, are not as well defined. This study aims to characterize the modulatory effect of working memory- a system for temporary storage of information necessary for complex cognitive tasks-on pain processing and vice-versa. We hypothesize that in healthy controls, pain intensity will decrease the accuracy of performance on a working memory task and that increasing working memory loads will attenuate the pain perception of an acute, thermal stimulus.