- Email: [email protected]
Extraversion and pain
445 The McGill Pain Questionnaire, which consists primarily of verbal descriptions of pain qualities, was administered to 95 patients suffering from one of 8 known pain syndromes. In a multiple group discriminant analysis of the questionnaire data, each type of pain was found to occupy a different region in the multidimensional space derived from the pain descriptions. Further statistical analysis of the data revealed that the differences among the constellations of words for the 8 syndromes are statistically significant. Each type of pain, therefore, appears to be characterized by a distinctive constellation of verbal descriptors. On the basis of the discriminant analysis, the descriptor-set for each patient was classified by the computer program into one of the 8 diagnostic categories. A correct classification was made in 77% of the cases. The McGill Pain Questionnaire thus appears to have potential value as a diagnostic technique. Differential
effect of morphine
J.P. Rosenfeld
and R. Kowatch,
on central versus peripheral
nociception
Brain Res., 88 (1975) 181-185
Aversive stimulation was administered to 3 areas of the brains of rats (nucleus subcoeruleus of the pontine reticular formation, the intercollicular nucleus of the midbrain, and the dorsal-lateral central gray substance of the midbrain). The noxiousness of the stimulation was measured by performance in a 2-way avoidance box. After 30 min of habituation to a peripheral test box, 2 ascending series of footshock trains were delivered. Following determinations of baseline central and peripheral nociceptive thresholds, the rats were injected subcutaneously with morphine sulfate solution. Thresholds were again determined, 45 min later, in the 2-way avoidance box. The results indicate that morphine, given in doses producing clear analgesia to peripheral pain, does not alter the nociceptive reaction threshold to aversive brain stimulation. It is suggested that opiate analgesia involves inhibition of nociception below the level of the brain stem and that opiate drugs activate a central structure that inhibits transmission of nociceptive information through the spinal cord. Extraversion
and pain
G.E. Barnes, &it. J. sot. clin. Psychol.,
14 (1975) 303-308
The author reviews the evidence for the view that extraverts have higher pain thresholds and greater pain tolerance than introverts. The findings appear inconclusive in both cases. Probability pooling was performed, grouping the comparable studies and carrying out overall tests of significance. The results support the hypothesized relationships between extraversion and pain threshold and between extraversion and pain tolerance. Possible reasons why certain studies failed to find these results are discussed.
effect of morphine
J.P. Rosenfeld
and R. Kowatch,
on central versus peripheral
nociception
Brain Res., 88 (1975) 181-185
Aversive stimulation was administered to 3 areas of the brains of rats (nucleus subcoeruleus of the pontine reticular formation, the intercollicular nucleus of the midbrain, and the dorsal-lateral central gray substance of the midbrain). The noxiousness of the stimulation was measured by performance in a 2-way avoidance box. After 30 min of habituation to a peripheral test box, 2 ascending series of footshock trains were delivered. Following determinations of baseline central and peripheral nociceptive thresholds, the rats were injected subcutaneously with morphine sulfate solution. Thresholds were again determined, 45 min later, in the 2-way avoidance box. The results indicate that morphine, given in doses producing clear analgesia to peripheral pain, does not alter the nociceptive reaction threshold to aversive brain stimulation. It is suggested that opiate analgesia involves inhibition of nociception below the level of the brain stem and that opiate drugs activate a central structure that inhibits transmission of nociceptive information through the spinal cord. Extraversion
and pain
G.E. Barnes, &it. J. sot. clin. Psychol.,
14 (1975) 303-308
The author reviews the evidence for the view that extraverts have higher pain thresholds and greater pain tolerance than introverts. The findings appear inconclusive in both cases. Probability pooling was performed, grouping the comparable studies and carrying out overall tests of significance. The results support the hypothesized relationships between extraversion and pain threshold and between extraversion and pain tolerance. Possible reasons why certain studies failed to find these results are discussed.