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Interpersonal touch and social support can influence physical health, mental well-being, and pain. However, the mechanisms by which supportive touch promotes analgesia are not well understood. In Study 1, we tested how three kinds of social support from a romantic partner (passive presence, gentle stroking, and handholding) affect pain ratings and skin conductance responses (SCRs). Overall, support reduced pain ratings in women, but not men, relative to baseline. Support decreased pain-related SCRs in both women and men. Though there were no significant differences across the three support conditions, effects were largest during handholding. Handholding also reduced SCRs in the supportive partner. Additionally, synchronicity in couples' SCR was correlated with reductions in self-reported pain, and individual differences in synchrony were correlated with the partner's trait empathy. In Study 2, we re-analyzed an existing dataset to explore fMRI activity related to individual differences in handholding analgesia effects in women. Increased activity in a distributed set of brain regions, including valuation-encoding frontostriatal areas, was correlated with lower pain ratings. These results may suggest that social support can reduce pain by changing the value of nociceptive signals. This reduction may be moderated by interpersonal synchrony and relationship dynamics.
Learn More >Lateral elbow pain (LEP) due to tendinosis is one of the most common musculoskeletal pains of the upper limbs, yet there is no satisfactory treatment. This study was an international, prospective, multi-center, randomized, controlled, clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture compared to sham laser in the treatment of LEP.
Learn More >Although many pain-related smartphone apps exist, little attention has been given to understanding how these apps are used over time and what factors contribute to greater compliance and patient engagement.
Learn More >Following an infection, cytokines not only regulate the acute immune response, but also contribute to symptoms such as inflammatory hyperalgesia. We aimed to characterize the acute inflammatory response induced by a human endotoxemia model, and its effect on pain perception using evoked pain tests in two different dose levels. We also attempted to determine whether combining a human endotoxemia challenge with measurement of pain thresholds in healthy subjects could serve as a model to study drug effects on inflammatory pain.
Learn More >Short-latency afferent inhibition (SAI) consists of motor cortex inhibition induced by sensory afferents and depends on the excitatory effect of cholinergic thalamocortical projections on inhibitory GABAergic cortical networks. Given the electrophysiological evidence for thalamo-cortical dysrhythmia in migraine, we studied SAI in migraineurs during and between attacks and searched for correlations with somatosensory habituation, thalamocortical activation, and clinical features.
Learn More >To explore the structural and functional alterations of the whole brain in patients with chronic cervical spondylotic pain (cCSP).
Learn More >Cold intolerance and pain can be a substantial problem in patients with peripheral nerve injury. We aimed at investigating the relationships among sensory recovery, cold intolerance and neuropathic pain in patients affected by upper limb peripheral nerve injury (Sunderland type V) treated with microsurgical repair, followed by early sensory re-education.
Learn More >To investigate the association of metabolic and lifestyle factors with possible diabetic polyneuropathy (DPN) and neuropathic pain in patients with early type 2 diabetes.
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