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Updated: Oct 29, 2025
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Dynamic Quantitative Sensory Testing to Characterize Central Pain Processing
Published on: February 16, 2017
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Sources of Individual Differences in Pain
1Departments of Psychology and Anesthesia, Alan Edwards Centre for Research on Pain, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1B1, Canada;
Annual Review of Neuroscience
|July 8, 2021
Summary
Individual differences in pain perception and treatment response are significant. Genetic factors, alongside sex, age, and environment, explain much of this pain variability.
Area of Science:
- Pain research
- Genetics
- Environmental influences on health
Background:
- Pain represents a major clinical and societal burden.
- Interindividual variability in pain sensitivity, disorder susceptibility, and treatment response is well-documented.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the sources of variability in pain perception and response.
- To examine both organismic and environmental factors contributing to pain.
Main Methods:
- Literature review focusing on genetic factors.
- Consideration of twin studies to estimate heritability.
- Inclusion of demographic and environmental variables.
Main Results:
- Genetic variants are a primary driver of pain variability.
- Gene-environment interactions are crucial in chronic pain development.
- Sex, age, ethnicity, personality, and environment also contribute to pain differences.
Conclusions:
- Understanding pain variability is key to effective treatment.
- Inherited genetic factors play a substantial role in pain sensitivity.
- A multifactorial approach considering genetics and environment is necessary for pain management.
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