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Does past pain influence current pain: biological and psychosocial models of sex differences
Author(s) -
Rollman Gary B.,
AbdelShaheed Jennifer,
Gillespie Joanne M.,
Jones Kevin S.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
european journal of pain
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.305
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1532-2149
pISSN - 1090-3801
DOI - 10.1016/j.ejpain.2004.03.002
Subject(s) - hypervigilance , psychosocial , pain tolerance , psychology , sensitization , pain perception , clinical psychology , medicine , threshold of pain , psychiatry , physical therapy , anesthesia , neuroscience , cognition
Previous studies have generally indicated sizeable sex differences for both laboratory pain reactivity and clinical pain reports. Numerous biological and psychosocial models have been invoked to account for these findings, but the laboratory and clinical findings have generally been examined in isolation. This paper reviews data which show a relationship between past clinical pain experiences and current responses to experimentally induced pain. Individuals with a greater pain history tend to show lower pain tolerance. Since women often have high pain experience levels and lower pain tolerance, one might ask whether the two factors are related. We review several models, based upon concepts of neonatal differences in pain reactivity, hypervigilance following early pain experiences, and concepts of peripheral and central sensitization or plasticity which might help to bridge the gap between clinical and experimental findings.