Syndrome-specific descriptor profiling: a psychophysiological and psychophysical approach

Migraineurs and nonmigraineurs were compared in their selection of, psychophysical evaluation of, and psychophysiological response to verbal pain descriptors. Participants observed a series of 20 pain descriptors, each presented twice, 12 sec each time. Skin conductance responses (SCRs) were recorded during each presentation. Using the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ), participants also selected pain descriptors that described migraine headaches. Results indicated that migraineurs demonstrated greater skin conductance responsivity to the visual presentation of pain descriptors as compared to nonmigraineurs. Pain descriptors more frequently selected by migraineurs on the MPQ were associated with greater skin conductance orienting responses. No differences were observed between migraineurs and nonmigraineurs in the number of intensity of pain descriptors chosen for any of the sensory, affective, evaluative, or miscellaneous dimensions of the MPQ. Results suggest that migraineurs may be conditioned or sensitized to particular sets of verbal pain descriptors and that these processes may serve to differentiate among pain sufferers and pain-free populations.