Chronic pain patients with different degrees of stress-related burden
Conditions
Interventions
Group 1: Chronic pain patients: clinical interview to characterize stress-related burden and associated symptoms
Pain threshold determination and repeated application of experimental somatic pain sti
Sponsors
Abteilung für Medizinische Psychologie und Medizinische Soziologie
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to 60 Years
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: Fluent German; BMI 18-30 kg/m2 Patients with chronic pain: existing diagnosis of a chronic pain disorder with a focus on the musculoskeletal and/or visceral system (with pain > 12 weeks)
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: All participants: General MRI exclusion criteria (epilepsy, claustrophobia, ferromagnetic implants or prostheses, non-removable braces or piercings, pacemaker, tattoos on neck or neck area, etc.); pregnancy or lactation; skin disease on upper body/trunk area (due to possible interference with electrode and thermode placement). Chronic pain patients: Tumor-related pain, neuropathic pain, oral and facial pain, migraine; substance abuse; severe psychiatric illness, especially psychotic or manic symptoms, severe acute depressive episode; neurological, oncological diseases; diabetes mellitus; regular use of opioids, tricyclic antidepressants, antipsychotics Healthy control group: any mental or physical illness, especially acute or chronic pain; regular use of medication (except contraceptives)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Repeated assessment of valence and fear in response to predictive cues (CS) and CS-US contingencies using visual analog scales (VAS) across experimental phases on the study day; VAS assessments of US intensity and unpleasantness; electrodermal activity, pupillometry (psychophysiological correlates of conditioned responses of autonomic nervous system); state anxiety and stress-associated parameters (questionnaires) | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Somatic pain thresholds;; Changes in electrogastrogram signal (EGG) and heart rate variability (HRV) during learning and extinction phases; Explicit and implicit emotional and sensory memory (questionnaires/assessments); Hair and salivary cortisol, alpha-amylase (measures of acute and chronic stress) MRI examination prior to experimental day to elicit brain structure, structural and functional connectivity (neurobiological predictors of pain-related learning) | — |
Countries
Germany
Contacts
Public ContactDominic Pundt
Abteilung für Medizinische Psychologie und Medizinische Soziologie
Outcome results
None listed