Increased pain sensitivity and pain-related anxiety in individuals with autism.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often exhibit differences in pain responsivity. This altered responsivity could be related to ASD-related social communication difficulties, sensory differences, or altered processing of pain stimuli. Previous neuroimaging work suggests altered pain evaluation could contribute to pain-related anxiety in ASD.

Objectives

We hypothesized that individuals with ASD would report increased pain sensitivity and endorse more pain-related anxiety, compared to typically developing controls.

Methods

We recruited 43 adults (ASD, n = 24; typically developing, n = 19) for 3 heat pain tasks (applied to the calf). We measured heat pain thresholds using a method of limits approach, a pain-rating curve (7 temperatures between

SUBMITTER: Failla MD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7676593 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov-Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature