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Phasic and tonic pain differentially impact the interruptive function of pain
Christopher Sinke1, Katharina Schmidt2, Katarina Forkmann3
1Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Plos One
|February 20, 2015
Summary
Longer pain duration significantly impairs cognitive tasks like visual detection and working memory. Even the expectation of prolonged pain negatively affects performance, highlighting pain
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Pain Research
- Psychology
Background:
- Pain's disruptive impact on cognitive functions is established.
- The specific role of pain duration in cognitive impairment requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine how pain duration influences cognitive performance.
- To assess the effects of short versus long painful stimuli on visual detection and working memory tasks.
Main Methods:
- Thirty-four healthy volunteers completed visual detection and working memory tasks.
- Stimulation involved short (2 sec) or long (18 sec) painful heat stimuli of equal intensity.
- Performance was compared between short and long pain sessions.
Main Results:
- Cognitive performance (detection and counting) was significantly worse during the long pain session.
- Impaired performance persisted even in control trials within the long pain session.
- Expectations of pain's impact correlated with working memory performance.
Conclusions:
- Pain duration, not just intensity, detrimentally affects cognitive functions.
- Expectations regarding pain's cognitive impact play a significant role.
- Further research is needed to fully understand the role of expectation in pain-induced cognitive impairment.
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