Psychology

High impact chronic pain (HICP) is a recently proposed concept for treatment stratifying patients with chronic pain and monitoring their progress. The goal is to reduce the impact of chronic pain on the individual, their family, and society. The US National Pain Strategy defined HICP as the chronic pain associated with substantial restrictions on participation in work, social, and self-care activities for at least 6 months. To understand the meaning and characteristics of HICP from the younger (<65 years old) and older adults (≥65 years old) with chronic pain, our study examined patients' perceived pain impact between the two age groups. We also characterize the degree of pain impact, assessed with the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) pain interference (PI), between adults and older adults with HICP. We recruited patients at a tertiary pain clinic. The survey included open-ended questions about pain impact, the Graded Chronic Pain Scale-Revised to identify patients' meeting criteria for HICP, and the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) 8-item PI short form (v.8a). A total of 55 younger adults (65.5% women, 72.7% HICP, mean age = 55.0 with of 16.2) and 28 older adults (53.6% women, 64.3% HICP, mean age = 72.6 with of 5.4) with chronic pain participated in this study. In response to an open-ended question in which participants were asked to list out the areas of major impact pain, those with HICP in the younger group most commonly listed work, social activity, and basic physical activity (e.g., walking and standing); for those in the older group, basic physical activity, instrumental activity of daily living (e.g., housework, grocery shopping), and participating in social or fun activity for older adults with HICP were the most common. A 2 × 2 ANOVA was conducted using age (younger adults vs. older adults) and HICP classification (HICP vs. No HICP). A statistically significant difference was found in the PROMIS-PI T-scores by HICP status (HICP: = 58.4, = 6.3; No HICP: = 67.8, = 6.3), but not by age groups with HICP. In conclusion, perceived pain impacts were qualitatively, but not quantitatively different between younger and older adults with HICP. We discuss limitations and offer recommendations for future research.

Modern-Type Depression (MTD) is a category of depression that has been studied mainly in Japan; however, no study has attempted to determine its relation to chronic pain.

Speaker gender representation at medical conferences is a significant site of gender disparity. Our primary objective was to quantify the proportion of female speakers and compare plenary session opportunities by gender at the North American Neuromodulation Society (NANS) Annual Conference.

Chronic itch is a complex psychophysiological sensation, which can severely affect the quality of life in patients with atopic dermatitis and psoriasis. Itch depends on the irritation of receptors in the skin and the processing of sensory information in the central nervous system. Severe itch leads to activation and later on to disruption of the stress response, resulting in disorders of skin repair, functional and microstructural changes in the areas of the central nervous system that are responsible for the perception of itch. Psychosocial stress can be an essential factor, activating neurohumoral mechanisms which lead to increased itch and scratch, exacerbating skin damage. Patients with chronic itch often have sleep disorders, increased irritability, and depletion of the nervous system. They are characterized by disrupting social relationships, high incidence of anxiety, depressive disorders, and suicidal tendencies. Psychological methods of intervention can effectively influence various mechanisms in the pathogenesis of itch and scratch and improve social functioning in patients with chronic dermatological itch. In this mini-review, we discuss family constellation seminars as an effective method of psychological intervention that can reduce the intensity of itch, and improve sleep and performance in patients with atopic dermatitis and psoriasis. This method is insufficiently described in previous reviews of psychological interventions in atopic dermatitis and psoriasis patients. The positive impact of family constellations seminars in patients with chronic dermatological itch may be related to reducing stress by improving understanding of the family situation, appropriate management of family secrets, and enhancing interactions with the social environment.

The effect of moderate neonatal stress induced by inflammatory pain in rat pups of both sexes on the hormonal response and cognitive processes in adult animals was studied in the Morris water maze. No significant differences in spatial learning and memory were found in experimental rats exposed to neonatal inflammatory pain vs. control animals. However, experimental rats exhibited sex differences in long-term spatial memory whose efficiency was higher in males vs. females. After long-term memory testing, stress responsiveness of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis, as assessed by the plasma corticosterone level in the formalin test, was higher in experimental males vs. females. Only experimental females exhibited differences between short-term and long-term memory, with the efficiency being higher in the former. Thus, sexual dimorphism was found in the effect of neonatal nociceptive stress on long-term spatial memory in adult rats: experimental males vs. females demonstrated more effective long-term memory combined with a higher stress reactivity of the hormonal response.