Influence of age on thermal thresholds, thermal pain thresholds, and reaction time

2010 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 722-726 ◽  
Author(s):  
Han-Wei Huang ◽  
Wen-Chi Wang ◽  
Chou-Ching K. Lin
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Pain Thresholds ◽  
Thermal Thresholds ◽  
Thermal Pain

Thermal Thresholds and Catastrophizing in Individuals with Chronic Pain after Whiplash Injury

2006 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 138-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ragnhild Raak ◽  
Mia Wallin
Keyword(s):  
Pain Catastrophizing ◽  
Thermal Sensitivity ◽  
Trapezius Muscle ◽  
Thenar Eminence ◽  
Heat Pain ◽  
Cold Pain ◽  
Pain Thresholds ◽  
Thermal Thresholds ◽  
Thermal Pain ◽  
Background Pain

Thermal sensitivity, thermal pain thresholds, and catastrophizing were examined in individuals with whiplash associated disorders (WAD) and in healthy pain-free participants. Quantitative sensory testing (QST) was used to measure skin sensitivity to cold and warmth and cold and heat pain thresholds over both the thenar eminence and the trapezius muscle (TrM) in 17 participants with WAD (age 50.8± 11.3 years) and 18 healthy participants (age 44.8± 10.2 years). The Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) was used to determine pain coping strategies, and visual analogue scales were used for self-assessment of current background pain in individuals in the WAD group as well as experienced pain intensity and unpleasantness after QST and sleep quality in all participants. There were significant differences in warmth threshold and cold and heat pain thresholds of the TrM site between the WAD and pain-free groups. Significant differences between the two groups were also found for the catastrophizing dimension of helplessness in the PCS and in self-assessed quality of sleep. A correlational analysis showed that current background pain is significantly correlated with both cold discrimination and cold pain threshold in the skin over the TrM in individuals with WAD. These findings imply that thermal sensitivity is an important factor to consider in providing nursing care to individuals with WAD. Because biopsychosocial factors also influence the experience of pain in individuals with WAD, the role of nurses includes not only the description of the pain phenomenon but also the identification of relieving and aggravating factors.

An Examination by Forearm EMG on Pain Reaction Time to Radiant Heat

1993 ◽  
Vol 76 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1139-1146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toshiteru Hatayama ◽  
Kayoko Shimizu
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Time Delay ◽  
Skin Temperature ◽  
Motor Response ◽  
Pain Threshold ◽  
Radiant Heat ◽  
Repeated Measurements ◽  
Pain Sensation ◽  
Pain Thresholds ◽  
Pain Reaction

The present study was done to estimate rise in skin temperature during a pain reaction time (pain RT) as a means of investigating why a pricking pain threshold, produced by thermal stimulation using time method, often increases during repeated measurements. The pain RT, or the time-delay between occurrence of pain sensation and a subsequent motor response, was measured by making EMG recording on a forearm. The radiant heat stimuli were three, 200, 300, and 350 mcal/sec./cm2, each of which was given through a round radiation window of an algesiometer head. Analysis showed that the pain RTs would be too short to explain higher pain thresholds often found using the time method.

Determinants of thermal pain thresholds in normal subjects

2008 ◽  
Vol 119 (10) ◽  
pp. 2389-2395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gunnar L. Wasner ◽  
James A. Brock
Keyword(s):  
Normal Subjects ◽  
Pain Thresholds ◽  
Thermal Pain

Adaptation of thermal pain in the skin

1962 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 693-696 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leon C. Greene ◽  
James D. Hardy
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Radiation ◽  
Skin Temperature ◽  
Radiation Intensity ◽  
Pain Threshold ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Initial Period ◽  
Pain Thresholds ◽  
Thermal Pain ◽  
Cutaneous Pain ◽  
The Subject

Cutaneous pain thresholds were determined on blackened skin of foreheads and forearms of human subjects over areas of 16 cm2 by recording skin temperature during exposure to thermal radiation for periods up to 50 min. Intensity of stimulus was controlled by the subject so that threshold pain was maintained throughout the exposure. After the initial period of adjustment by the subject, radiation intensity was generally maintained constant although skin temperature for the pain threshold decreased from 44.9 C to 43.8 C. By using an intensity as low as 22 mcal/cm2/sec, threshold pain was evoked in 29 min at a skin temperature of 42.2 C. In both groups, once pain had been established it did not disappear. It is inferred from these observations that thermal pain does not adapt for near-threshold stimulation in the period between onset of pain at 30 sec and termination of stimulation. Submitted on December 26, 1961

Repeatability of cold pain and heat pain thresholds: The application of sensory testing in migraine research

Cephalalgia ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 30 (8) ◽  
pp. 904-909 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trond Sand ◽  
Kristian Bernhard Nilsen ◽  
Knut Hagen ◽  
Lars Jacob Stovner
Keyword(s):  
Pain Threshold ◽  
Heat Pain ◽  
Cold Pain ◽  
Pain Thresholds ◽  
Thermal Pain ◽  
Normal Limits ◽  
Normal Test ◽  
Heat Pain Threshold ◽  
The Face ◽  
Repeatability Limit

Normal heat pain threshold (HPT) and cold pain threshold (CPT) repeatability should be estimated in order to identify thermal allodynia in longitudinal studies, but such data are scarce in the literature. The aim of our study was to estimate normal HPT and CPT repeatability in the face, forehead, neck and hand. In addition, we reviewed briefly normative studies of thermal pain thresholds relevant for headache research. Thermal pain thresholds were measured on three different days in 31 healthy headache-free subjects. Coefficients of repeatability and normal limits were calculated. HPT and CPT were lowest in the face. Pooled across regions, the lower repeatability limit for the test/retest ratio was 63% for HPT and 55% for CPT. The upper normal CPT limit varied between 24.5°C and 29.7°C. Lower HPT limits ranged between 35.5°C and 40.8°C. Quantitative sensory methods provide useful information about headache and pain pathophysiology, and it is important to estimate the normal test/retest repeatability range in follow-up studies.

scholarly journals Vagus Nerve Stimulation Affects Pain Perception in Depressed Adults

2005 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey J Borckardt ◽  
F Andrew Kozel ◽  
Berry Anderson ◽  
Angela Walker ◽  
Mark S George
Keyword(s):  
Vagus Nerve ◽  
Nerve Stimulation ◽  
Vagus Nerve Stimulation ◽  
Pain Perception ◽  
Pain Tolerance ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Pain Thresholds ◽  
Thermal Pain ◽  
Device Parameter ◽  
Acute Changes

BACKGROUND: Previous research suggests that vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) affects pain perception in epilepsy patients, with acute VNS decreasing pain thresholds and chronic VNS treatment increasing pain thresholds. However, no studies have investigated the effects of VNS on pain perception in chronically depressed adults, nor have controlled, systematic investigations been published on the differential effects of certain VNS device parameters on pain perception.OBJECTIVES: The present study tried to replicate the results of previous research showing acute pronociceptive effects of VNS and determine the effects of various device parameter settings on pain tolerance. The present study also investigated the relationship among patients' levels of depression, duration of VNS treatment and VNS-induced changes in pain perception.METHODS: A thermal pain challenge task was used to determine pain tolerance during VNS device activation using different combinations of VNS device parameter settings within subjects undergoing VNS therapy for chronic depression.RESULTS: Significant pronociceptive effects were found for acute VNS activation. Individual differences were found with respect to the VNS settings associated with the largest changes in pain perception. Severity of depression was inversely related to baseline pain tolerance, but depression severity was unrelated to VNS-induced acute changes in pain tolerance, as was the length of time participants had been undergoing VNS treatment.CONCLUSIONS: VNS appears to affect pain perception in depressed adults. Different VNS parameter settings may be associated with unique effects from patient to patient. More studies are needed to determine the long-term effects of VNS on pain perception.

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