A preliminary report on pain thresholds in bulimia nervosa during a bulimic episode.
Subjects with bulimia nervosa (BN) have been shown to exhibit abnormal satiety responses. Short-term satiety is largely mediated by afferent vagal activity. Activation of afferent vagal fibers has also been found to stimulate a descending pain inhibitory pathway that leads to elevation in somatosensory pain thresholds. Therefore, the study of pain thresholds in BN subjects may lead to a better understanding of afferent vagal function in this disorder. In this preliminary study, pressure pain thresholds were assessed in nine subjects with BN on 3 consecutive days during a binge-eating and vomiting (B/V) episode, during a normal meal, and after an overnight fast. A significant time versus condition effect was found with a significant change in the pain threshold in BN subjects under the B/V condition only. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that vagal afferent activation by a B/V episode also activates the descending pain inhibitory pathway.
Raymond
N C
NC
Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis 55455, USA.
Eckert
E D
ED
Hamalainen
M
M
Evanson
D
D
Thuras
P D
PD
Hartman
B K
BK
Faris
P L
PL
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002032:Bulimia / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009475:Neurons, Afferent / Q000502:physiology; D010146:Pain / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology*; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013997:Time Factors; D014630:Vagus Nerve / Q000502:physiology