Abstract
Sex differences in the processing and experience of emotion exist. The present study
examined whether sex differences in emotion lead to sex differences in affective modulation
of pain and spinal nociception (assessed by nociceptive flexion reflex, NFR). Participants
were healthy men (n = 47) and women (n = 73). Prior to affective modulation testing,
electrocutaneous pain sensitivity was assessed (NFR threshold, pain threshold, pain
tolerance). Affective modulation of pain and NFR was then assessed by presenting pictures
that vary in emotional valence and arousal (mutilation, attack, death, neutral, families,
adventure, erotica) during which suprathreshold electrocutaneous stimulations were
delivered. Subjective emotional reactions were assessed after every picture, and nociceptive
reactions were assessed after every suprathreshold stimulus. Results indicated women
had greater pain sensitivity and also responded more negatively to attack pictures
and less positively to erotic pictures. But despite these differences, affective modulation
of pain/NFR was not moderated by sex: erotic pictures inhibited pain/NFR and mutilation
pictures enhanced pain/NFR. Together, this implies subjective emotional experience
does not completely mediate picture-evoked modulation of pain/NFR, a supposition that
was further supported by exploratory analyses that demonstrated picture-evoked modulation
of pain/NFR was present even after controlling for intra- and inter-individual differences
in emotional reactions to pictures. Implications and limitations of these findings
are discussed.
Perspective
Evidence suggests that women are more sensitive to experimental and clinical pain,
but the mechanisms contributing to these sex differences are poorly understood. Affective
processes are known to play a role in regulating pain signaling and pain experience;
therefore, the present study examined whether sex differences in affective experience
contribute to sex differences in pain. Results indicate that in healthy individuals
affective processes may not contribute to sex differences in pain.
Key words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: June 17, 2010
Accepted:
April 8,
2010
Received in revised form:
March 25,
2010
Received:
February 26,
2010
Footnotes
Funded by a Health Research Award (HR06-177) from the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology awarded to J.L.R.
Identification
Copyright
© 2010 American Pain Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
