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Updated: Jun 16, 2026

Dynamic Quantitative Sensory Testing to Characterize Central Pain Processing
Published on: February 16, 2017
Habituation to pain: further support for a central component
C Rennefeld1, K Wiech, E D Schoell
1Department of Neurology, University of Hamburg (UKE), Germany NeuroImage Nord, Department of Systems Neuroscience, University of Hamburg (UKE), Germany Department of Human Biology, University of Hamburg, Germany Oxford Centre for Functional MRI on the Brain, Department of Clinical Neurology & Nuffield Department of Anaesthetics, Oxford University, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Germany.
Habituation to pain through repetitive stimulation reduces pain sensitivity at the stimulation site and elsewhere. This pain attenuation mechanism does not involve the endogenous opioid system.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Pain Research
- Somatosensory System
Background:
- Habituation to pain may prevent chronic pain development.
- Neurobiological mechanisms underlying pain habituation are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the somatotopic specificity of pain attenuation over time.
- To investigate the role of the endogenous opioid system in pain habituation.
Main Methods:
- 24 healthy volunteers received daily painful stimulation on the left volar forearm for one week.
- Pain habituation was assessed by comparing pain ratings and thresholds on days 1 and 8.
- Pain responses were measured at the stimulated site, contralateral arm, and leg, with and without naloxone.
Main Results:
- Significant habituation to pain occurred at the site of repetitive stimulation.
- Pain attenuation was also observed in non-stimulated limbs, indicating central mechanisms.
- The degree of pain attenuation varied across body sites (stimulated arm > contralateral arm > leg).
- Opioid-receptor antagonist naloxone did not affect the development of pain habituation.
Conclusions:
- Repetitive painful stimulation leads to pain habituation at both local and distant sites.
- Central nervous system mechanisms, independent of the endogenous opioid system, underlie this pain habituation.
- Findings suggest a protective role for pain habituation against chronic pain development.
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