Abstract
Avoidance of pain has been argued to be key factor leading pain events to chronic disability. In this respect, research has focused on investigating the working mechanisms of avoidance's acquisition. Avoidance of painful stimuli has been traditionally studied using a combination of Pavlovian and Instrumental procedures. However, such approach seems to go against real-life scenarios where avoidance is commonly acquired more readily. Using a novel pain avoidance paradigm, we tested whether pain avoidance can be installed in absence of associations between a cue and pain omission, and whether such avoidance differs between pain patients and healthy controls. Participants first learned to avoid painful stimuli by pressing a grip bar. Then, they passively encountered pairings of one geometrical shape with pain and of another geometrical shape without pain. Lastly, participants encountered the geometrical shapes while being able to use the grip bar. Results showed that participants pressed the bar more vigorously when encountering the previously pain-related shape compared to the pain-unrelated shape. This effect did not seem to differ between pain patients and healthy control. Our study could inspire a new way in measuring avoidance in pain, possibly paving the way to better understanding how avoidance is installed in chronic pain.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Article number | 104491 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Behaviour Research and Therapy |
Volume | 176 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - May 2024 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2024 The Authors
Funding
Angelos-Miltiadis Krypotos was supported by an FWO grant (Reg. #12x5320N ) and is now supported by an NWO grant (Reg. #401.18.056 ) grant. Johan W.S. Vlaeyen is supported by the ‘Asthenes’ long-term structural funding–Methusalem grant by the Flemish Government , Belgium ( METH/15/011 ) and the National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (NIHDI: #2018–00047 ). Rachel Sjouwerman is supported by an NWO Open Competition grant (nr. 406.20.GO.032 ) awarded to Johan W.S. Vlaeyen. This study was supported by an infrastructure grant from the FWO and the Research Fund KU Leuven, Belgium ( AKUL/19/06 ; I011320N ).
Funders | Funder number |
---|---|
Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek | |
Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek | 401.18.056 |
Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek | |
Vlaamse regering | METH/15/011 |
Vlaamse regering | |
Institut National d'assurance Maladie-Invalidité | 2018–00047, 406.20, I011320N, AKUL/19/06 |
Institut National d'assurance Maladie-Invalidité |
Keywords
- Conditioning
- Instrumental learning
- Pain
- Pavlovian learning
- Therapy