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Individual differences in diffuse noxious inhibitory controls (DNIC): association with clinical variables.

Robert R Edwards1, Timothy J Ness, Douglas A Weigent

  • 1Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 600 N. Wolfe St, Meyer 1-101, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA Department of Anesthesiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, Birmingham, AL, USA Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA College of Dentistry, VAMC, University of Florida at Gainesville, Gainesville, FL, USA.

Pain
|December 9, 2003
PubMed
Summary

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This study found that diffuse noxious inhibitory controls (DNIC) in laboratory settings predict clinical pain and health outcomes. Greater DNIC responses correlate with reduced pain and improved physical functioning in healthy adults.

Area of Science:

  • Pain research
  • Experimental psychology
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • Laboratory pain research often lacks clinical relevance.
  • Previous studies show inconsistent associations between experimental pain and chronic pain.
  • Few studies examine various laboratory pain responses or diffuse noxious inhibitory controls (DNIC) in relation to clinical pain.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between laboratory pain responses, specifically DNIC, and clinical pain and health-related quality of life in healthy adults.
  • To assess the clinical relevance of experimental pain measures.
  • To explore age and sex differences in pain responses and their relation to health outcomes.

Main Methods:

  • Healthy adults completed questionnaires on pain, quality of life, and psychological variables.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Laboratory assessment of diffuse noxious inhibitory controls (DNIC) and other pain responses.
  • Regression analyses were used to predict health-related quality of life measures.

    • Main Results:

    • DNIC was not associated with other laboratory pain responses or psychological/physiological variables.
    • Age, sex, and DNIC responses explained 10-25% of the variance in health-related quality of life.
    • Greater DNIC responses were linked to less reported pain, better physical functioning, and better self-rated health.
    • Age differences in physical functioning were partially mediated by age differences in DNIC.

    Conclusions:

    • Experimental pain procedures, particularly DNIC, show potential clinical relevance.
    • DNIC appears to be the laboratory pain measure most strongly associated with clinical pain and health-related variables.
    • DNIC may be a valuable biomarker for assessing pain and health status.