Memory for Stress-Associated acute pain

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Negative emotions (eg, tension, anxiety, fear, anger) influence acute pain recall. Given reliance on patient-provided pain reports across the care continuum, an understanding of factors that modulate pain memory processing become important to patients, clinicians, and health care organizations. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of negative emotions on the prediction of 6-month pain recall by using an experimental stress manipulation (speech task) + pain (forehead cold pressor) versus nonstress control + pain crossover design (n = 68). Results showed that (1) negative emotions were greater in the stress session than the nonstress session, and experienced pain levels did not differ by condition or sex; (2) the level negative emotions at the time of the pain stimuli mediated the ability of experienced pain to predict pain recall; and (3) women recalled more stress session pain than men, and nonstress pain was accurately recalled. Integrating these findings with those of others, we present a model of acute pain memory recall in which negative emotions influence pain memory processing wherein the level of experienced pain predicts short-term recall and affective state at the time of the experience becomes a powerful predictor for the long-term recall of experienced pain level. After 6 months the level of recalled experimental pain delivered within a stressful context becomes exaggerated. Negative emotions at the time of the painful stimuli and at recall influenced the prediction of the level of recalled pain. Emotional arousal may influence how memory for pain is encoded, processed, and retrieved.