Affective and social pain modulation in children-Experimental evidence using picture viewing.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Children frequently encounter pain. Their pain like adults' pain is probably modulated by social-affective factors. Despite its clinical relevance, such pain modulation has not been explored experimentally in children, and little is known about specific factors accounting for it such as catastrophizing. We examined pain modulating effects of pictures varying in social-affective content and personal meaning (e.g., mothers' vs. strangers' faces) using subjective and psychophysiological measures (skin conductance, heart rate, corrugator electromyography) as outcomes.

Methods

Forty-two children (8-13 years) underwent tonic heat pain stimulation while viewing pictures (social-affective: their mothers' faces with neutral expression, strangers' neutral and happy faces; a

SUBMITTER: Hillmer K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11658489 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature