RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Doubling your pay-off: Winning pain relief engages endogenous pain inhibition
JF eneuro
JO eneuro
FD Society for Neuroscience
SP ENEURO.0029-15.2015
DO 10.1523/ENEURO.0029-15.2015
A1 Susanne Becker
A1 Wiebke Gandhi
A1 Saskia Kwan
A1 Alysha-Karima Ahmed
A1 Petra Schweinhardt
YR 2015
UL http://www.eneuro.org/content/early/2015/08/25/ENEURO.0029-15.2015.abstract
AB When in pain, pain relief is much sought-after, particularly for individuals with chronic pain. In analogy to augmentation of the hedonic experience (‘liking’) of a reward by the motivation to obtain reward (‘wanting’), the seeking of pain relief in a motivated state might increase the experience of pain relief when obtained. We tested this hypothesis in a psychophysical experiment in healthy human subjects, by assessing potential pain-inhibitory effects of pain relief ‘won’ in a wheel of fortune game compared to pain relief without winning, exploiting that the mere chance of winning induces a motivated state. The results show pain-inhibitory effects of pain relief obtained by winning in behaviorally assessed pain perception and ratings of pain intensity. Further, the higher participants scored on the personality trait novelty seeking, the more pain inhibition was induced. These results provide evidence that pain relief, when obtained in a motivated state, engages endogenous pain inhibitory systems beyond the pain reduction that underlies the relief in the first place. Consequently, such pain relief might be used to improve behavioral pain therapy, inducing a positive, perhaps self-amplifying feedback loop of reduced pain and improved functionality.Significance Statement: When in pain, pain relief is relevant to everyone. For individuals with chronic pain, pain relief can be an all-dominant goal. Although it is clear that pain relief is a fundamental motivator, it is unknown whether pain relief gained in a motivated state alters the perception of the remaining pain. It is demonstrated here that pain relief that is obtained in a motivated state engages endogenous pain inhibition compared to pain relief unrelated to individuals’ behavior. High novelty seeking as a personality trait was associated with more endogenous pain inhibition. This knowledge is highly relevant for pain therapy as it could be used to create a self-sustaining and perhaps self-amplifying positive feedback loop of pain-inhibition and improved functionality.