Background: Research has demonstrated that short meditation training may yield higher pain tolerance in acute experimental pain. Our study aimed at examining underlying mechanisms of this alleged effect. In addition, placebo research has shown that higher pain tolerance is mediated via endogenous neuromodulators: experimental inhibition of opioid receptors by naloxone antagonized this effect. W...

Aim and Introduction: It is often assumed that persons with visual impairment have a better sensory perception this ability helps them to perceive the environment better. To objectively study this assumption we carried out a study on sensory, pain thresholds and pain tolerance in persons with visual impairment. Materials and Methods: An electrodiagnostic stimulator was used to assess the sensor...

UNLABELLED Morphine is among the most prevalent analgesics prescribed for chronic pain. However, prolonged morphine treatment results in the development of analgesic tolerance. An abundance of evidence has accumulated indicating that central nervous system glial cell activity facilitates pain transmission and opposes morphine analgesia. While the midbrain ventrolateral periaqueductal gray (vlPA...

Abstract Pain is one of the most prominent symptoms of osteoarthritis. However, there is often discordance between the pain experienced by individuals with osteoarthritis and the degree of articular pathology. This suggests that individual differences, including genetic variability in the central processing of nociceptive stimuli, may impact the presentation of osteoarthritis. Here, we show tha...

Chronic pain is a major public health problem with limited treatment options. Opioids remain a routine treatment for chronic pain, but extended exposure to opioid therapy can produce opioid tolerance and hyperalgesia. Although the mechanisms underlying chronic pain, opioid-induced tolerance, and opioid-induced hyperalgesia remain to be uncovered, mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is involved...

Recent research suggests that communicative and protective pain behaviors represent functionally distinct subsystems of behavior associated with pain. The present research examined whether components of pain experience such as pain severity, catastrophizing and fear of pain were differentially associated with communicative and protective pain behaviors. It was predicted that pain severity would...

Opiates are the primary treatment for pain management in cancer patients reporting moderate to severe pain, and are being increasingly used for non-cancer chronic pain. However, prolonged administration of opiates is associated with significant problems including the development of antinociceptive tolerance, wherein higher doses of the drug are required over time to elicit the same amount of an...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect of mindfulness training on pain tolerance, psychological well-being, physiological activity, and the acquisition of mindfulness skills. METHODS Forty-two asymptomatic University students participated in a randomized, single-blind, active control pilot study. Participants in the experimental condition were offered six (1-h) mindfulness sessions; control part...

Although a common pain response, whether swearing alters individuals' experience of pain has not been investigated. This study investigated whether swearing affects cold-pressor pain tolerance (the ability to withstand immersing the hand in icy water), pain perception and heart rate. In a repeated measures design, pain outcomes were assessed in participants asked to repeat a swear word versus a...

Chronic pain is a prevalent and debilitating condition, conveying immense human burden. Suffering from chronic pain is not only caused by painful symptomatology, but also through a wide range of psychopathological and physical consequences, including depression and anxiety disorders, impaired sleep and cognition, cardiovascular morbidity and impaired sexual function, all contributing to diminis...