Memory for non-painful auditory items is influenced by whether they are experienced in a context involving painful electrical stimulation.

ABSTRACT: In this study, we sought to examine the effect of experimentally induced somatic pain on memory. Subjects heard a series of words and made categorization decisions in two different conditions. One condition included painful shocks administered just after presentation of some of the words; the other condition involved no shocks. For the condition that included painful stimulations, every other word was followed by a shock, and subjects were informed to expect this pattern. Word lists were repeated three times within each condition in randomized order, with different category judgments but consistent pain-word pairings. After a brief delay, recognition memory was assessed. Non-pain words from the pain condition were less strongly encoded than non-pain words from the completely pain-free cond

SUBMITTER: Vogt KM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6586482 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature