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Pain and executive functions: a unique relationship between Stroop task and experimentally induced pain
Jovana Bjekić1, Marko Živanović2, Danka Purić2
1Institute for Medical Research, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia. jovana.bjekic@imi.bg.ac.rs.
Psychological Research
|January 27, 2017
Summary
Cognitive inhibition, specifically the Stroop task, is linked to lower experimental pain sensitivity. Other executive functions like updating and shifting showed no association with pain responses in healthy adults.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychology
Background:
- Cognitive inhibition is increasingly linked to reduced experimental pain sensitivity.
- A comprehensive examination of executive functions (EF) including inhibition, updating, and shifting in relation to pain sensitivity is lacking.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the relationship between various executive functions and experimentally induced cold pain sensitivity.
- To systematically investigate the role of inhibition, updating, and set-shifting in pain perception.
Main Methods:
- 54 healthy participants (ages 21-24) underwent EF assessments using established tasks for inhibition (Stroop, Stop-signal), updating (Keep-track, Letter-memory, n-back), and set-shifting (Plus-minus, Number-letter, Local-global).
- Cold pressor test measured pain threshold, sensitivity, and tolerance.
Main Results:
- No significant relationships were found between pain measures and executive functions related to updating or set-shifting.
- All pain measures (threshold, sensitivity, tolerance) were significantly associated with Stroop interference scores (inhibition).
- Other inhibition tasks did not show a relationship with pain measures, highlighting the unique role of Stroop-type inhibition.
Conclusions:
- Cognitive inhibition, particularly the ability measured by the Stroop task, is fundamentally related to pain experience.
- This relationship may stem from the capacity to suppress automatic processes, influencing how individuals perceive and respond to pain.
