title: Changes in pain from a repetitive thermal stimulus: the roles of adaptation and sensitization.
abstract: This study examined processes that contribute to the changing painfulness of a repeatedly presented thermal (heat) stimulus. The 3-second pulses were presented to the side of the hand at a rate of 4/min, too slow to engage wind-up. Over the course of 32 trials, pain intensity (measured by verbal report on a 0-100 scale) first declined and then (in most cases) rose again, indicating adaptation and sensitization, respectively. The magnitude of adaptation grew across a series of 3 runs, indicating that adaptation has a slow as well as a fast component. The rate of sensitization depended on stimulus temperature, but not on subjective pain intensity; this result implies that sensitization takes place at an early processing stage. Adaptation and sensitization were comparable in participants with fibromyalgia, temporomandibular disorders, and in healthy controls, indicating that these processes occur before the perceptual amplification that characterizes fibromyalgia and temporomandibular disorders. The ability of vibration to reduce pain has previously been shown to involve segmental inhibition; the finding in the present study that vibratory gating of pain is significantly (inversely) related to the rate of sensitization suggests that the latter also reflects segmental processes. Several lines of evidence thus point to the conclusion that adaptation and sensitization occur at early stages of sensory information processing.
authors: Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA Department of Endodontics, School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA Center for Neurosensory Disorders, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
authors: Mark
authors: M
authors: Hollins
authors: Daniel
authors: D
authors: Harper
authors: William
authors: W
authors: Maixner
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005356:Fibromyalgia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006358:Hot Temperature / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods; D017288:Pain Threshold / Q000502:physiology*; D012677:Sensation / Q000502:physiology*; D012867:Skin / Q000294:innervation; D013705:Temporomandibular Joint Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013933:Thumb / Q000294:innervation; D013997:Time Factors; D014732:Vibration / Q000009:adverse effects; D055815:Young Adult