Past Pain Experience and Experimentally induced Pain Perception

Abstract

ABSTRACT Many intercurrent factors may be involved in the modulation of the pain message and its expression, such as the previous experience of pain built along the life. In this study, we aimed to determine whether susceptibility to experimentally induced pain is differentially influenced by the individual previous painful experience in subjects with schizophrenia (SC) major depression (MD), and controls (C). Methods: The SC (30), MD (32) and C (30) groups participated in experimental pain tests (application of pressure and induction of ischemia) after a semi-structured interview to make an inventory of the previous painful experiences, and the evaluation of anxiety either with autonomic (heart rate, blood pressure) or psychological (Hospital Anxiety Depression scale HAD) measures, and catastrophism. Results: The reported pain intensities, severities, duration, of the previous pain events, and the number of previous painful events were equivalent in the three groups, except for the number of painful events experimented before the last six months which was lower in the MD group. Experimental pain sensitivity was influenced by the diagnosis, the HAD scores or the number and intensities of previous lived painful events. Conclusion: The lack of a past experience of pain was comparable for the different groups, suggesting that psychiatric disorders do not affect the experience of pain associated with daily life or past events. For each subject, the reported previous experience of pain influences the present feeling of pain.