08:30 - 10:00
Wed-A7-Talk VI-
Wed-Talk VI-
Room: A7
Chair/s:
Angelika Dierolf
The aging population is disproportionally affected by pain and its consequences. Aging is known to affect neurobiological aspects of pain perception and has been associated with a deterioration of descending pain inhibitory mechanisms. However, little is known about whether cognitive pain modulatory mechanisms are preserved in the older age. Here, we present a series of studies on cognitive and situational factors influencing pain processing and the efficacy of cognitive pain modulation on the behavioral and (neuro)physiological level, focusing on underlying neural mechanisms to gain insight in the changes of the aging brain associated with pain processing and pain modulation.
Ana María González Roldán will start presenting data from several electrophysiological studies examining how aging and chronic pain may mutually contribute to enhanced pain perception. Further expanding on chronic pain, Joukje Oosterman will present a study on the underlying neural mechanism of loss of control over pain in aging, a predictor for future chronic pain. She will focus on age-related changes in function and EEG-connectivity in brain circuits involved in pain processing in relation to top-down cognitive modulation of pain control. Turning to distraction from pain as a top-down inhibitory process, Marian van der Meulen will discuss the relationship between functional connectivity during resting state and the distraction effect size in younger and older healthy adults. The role of executive functions and age-related cognitive decline in distraction from pain is addressed by Angelika Dierolf, presenting results of an EEG study. Finally, Sven Philipsen will discuss the impact of acute stress on the efficacy of distraction from pain in young and older adults.
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„Does acute Stress influence the successful Distraction from Pain in young and older Adults?”
Wed-A7-Talk VI-05
Presented by: Sven Philipsen
Sven Philipsen 1, Marian van der Meulen 1, Wolfgang Miltner 2, Angelika Dierolf 1
1 Universität Luxemburg; Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences; Institute for Health and Behaviour; Stress, Pain and Gene-Environment Interplay, 2 Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Klinische Psychologie
Previous research has shown that cognitive modulation of pain through psychological strategies can contribute to pain relief and that distraction from pain through cognitive engagement represents an efficient method of these strategies. However, little is known about the impacts of stress and age on pain modulation, although previous findings suggest a negative effect of stress and that the efficacy may be impaired due to age-related cognitive decline. The present study therefore investigated the impact of acute stress on the efficacy of pain modulation through distraction in aging. Before and after an acute stress induction using the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) or a control condition, healthy younger (18-30 years) and older (60+ years) adults performed a n-back working memory task with low (0-back) and high (2-back) working memory load serving as the distraction paradigm, during which participants received individual adjusted non-painful and moderately painful electrical stimuli transmitted transdermal to the left inner forearm and rated them regarding intensity and unpleasantness on a visual analogue scale. Stress response was measured using heart rate and pulse and mood questionnaires about the stress experience. Preliminary results suggest more effective pain distraction under low working memory load for older adults, while in younger adults, pain reduction was higher under high load condition. So far, acute stress did not affect pain distraction in both age groups. The final results may contribute to a deeper understanding of pain modulation in aging and the impact of stress for a helpful optimization of pain therapy in older age.
Keywords: Pain, Stress, TSST, Pain Distraction, Aging
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