Great Expectations: The Conditioned Pain Modulation Response and Induced Optimism in Young Adults
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Date
2020-01-20
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Department
Psychology
Program
Psychology
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Access limited to the UMBC community. Item may possibly be obtained via Interlibrary Loan thorugh a local library, pending author/copyright holder's permission.
This item may be protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. It is made available by UMBC for non-commercial research and education. For permission to publish or reproduce, please see http://aok.lib.umbc.edu/specoll/repro.php or contact Special Collections at speccoll(at)umbc.edu
This item may be protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. It is made available by UMBC for non-commercial research and education. For permission to publish or reproduce, please see http://aok.lib.umbc.edu/specoll/repro.php or contact Special Collections at speccoll(at)umbc.edu
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Abstract
Conditioned pain modulation (CPM), or the phenomenon describing the inhibition of pain caused by one noxious stimulus (test stimulus) due to the application of another noxious stimulus (conditioning stimulus), is an important psychophysical test paradigm often used to test endogenous pain inhibition. Psychological variables, such as anxiety, depression, and pain catastrophizing have been shown to influence CPM. Fewer studies have examined constructs such as optimism, or having positive future expectancies for future outcomes. Though preliminary findings suggest that optimism promotes adaptive CPM, the causal link between this relation has yet to be established. The present study aimed to determine if optimism, as induced by the Best Possible Self visualization and writing exercise, predicted more adaptive CPM responses. A total of 80 healthy young adults (51% male), ages 18 ? 25 (M = 20.5, SD = 1.8), were stratified by sex and randomly assigned to either an experimental (i.e., optimism induction) or control condition. All participants completed a set of self-report baseline measures, followed by baseline pain threshold assessments and a CPM trial. Then, participants completed the optimism induction (imagining and describing their best possible selves in an ideal future) or the control exercise (visualizing and then describing a typical day). Following the intervention, participants completed another set of self-report measures, a second baseline pain threshold assessment, and a second CPM trial. Individuals who received the optimism intervention demonstrated greater and more efficient endogenous pain inhibition, as evidenced by significant improvements in the magnitude of their CPM response following the intervention, whereas control participants showed no change in CPM response over the two CPM trials. The present study is the first to provide evidence for a causal link between optimism and CPM. These findings suggest that psychological factors can be manipulated in such a way that enhances positive emotion and promotes more adaptive responses to pain (i.e., improved endogenous pain inhibition), which is supported by the Broaden-and-Build theory of positive emotions and the Dynamic Model of Affect. Future studies should investigate possible mechanisms contributing to the observed effects, including changes in coping mechanisms, executive functioning or attentional abilities, self-efficacy and pain resiliency.