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Pain responsivity in major depression and bipolar disorder
R H Dworkin1, W C Clark, J D Lipsitz
1Department of Anesthesiology, Columbia University, Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA.
Psychiatry Research
|March 27, 1995
Summary
Patients with major depression show impaired sensory discrimination of painful stimuli, suggesting sensory abnormalities contribute to reduced pain responsivity in mood disorders.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Pain Research
Background:
- Pain complaints are common in mood disorders like major depression and bipolar disorder.
- Understanding the mechanisms of altered pain perception in these conditions is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate thermal pain responsivity in major depression and bipolar disorder using signal detection theory.
- To differentiate sensory discrimination and response criteria for thermal stimuli in patient groups and controls.
Main Methods:
- Utilized signal detection theory to measure thermal pain responsivity.
- Compared sensory discrimination and response criteria for painful and non-painful thermal stimuli across patient groups and controls.
Main Results:
- Major depression patients exhibited poorer sensory discrimination for painful thermal stimuli compared to controls.
- Major depression patients displayed higher response criteria (more stoical) for both painful and non-painful stimuli.
- Bipolar disorder patients showed no significant difference in sensory discrimination but had higher response criteria for non-painful stimuli.
Conclusions:
- Reduced pain responsivity in major depression may involve both sensory and affective alterations.
- Altered pain processing is a significant feature of mood disorders, warranting further investigation.