Mental stress inhibits pain perception and heart rate variability but not a nociceptive withdrawal reflex

Do distraction from- or attention to sural nerve stimulation affect pain, heart rate variability, and a spinal withdrawal reflex?

In 26 male volunteers, electrical stimulation at the distal cutaneous receptive field of the sural nerve elicited pain and a nociceptive withdrawal reflex. Intensity of pain was rated on a numeric rating scale. Electromyographic reflex responses were measured from biceps femoris muscle. Cardiac autonomic function was estimated by heart rate variability measures and was expressed in the time domain as mean of RR-intervals for normal heart beats (mean-RR) and standard deviation of all normal RR-intervals (SD-NN) and, in the frequency domain, where pure vagal activity was assessed by high frequency power (0.15-0.4 Hz). Low frequency power (0.04-0.15 Hz) reflects both parasympathetic and sympathetic control. Effect parameters were recorded before and during random distraction and attention. Distraction from sural nerve stimulation was induced by a mental arithmetic test, paced auditory serial addition task (PASAT), while attention was induced by concentrating on painful foot stimulation.

Paced auditory serial addition task decreased mean-RR and SD-NN, frequency domain parameters, as well as pain (P<0.001). In contrast, PASAT did not change the spinal withdrawal reflex. Attention did not affect any effect parameter.

Distraction by PASAT altered autonomic activity and inhibited pain but failed to affect withdrawal reflex responses, while attention had no effect on either parameter. Psychological distraction and attention may have different effects on noxious evoked pain perception and autonomic activity. Pain relief during PASAT probably involves supraspinal mechanisms.