An experimental study of shared sensitivity to physical... : PAIN (original) (raw)

Articles

Eisenberger, Naomi I.a,*; Jarcho, Johanna M.b,*; Lieberman, Matthew D.b; Naliboff, Bruce D.c,d

a_Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA_

b_Department of Psychology, Franz Hall, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA_

c_Center for Neurovisceral Sciences and Women's Health, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, USA_

d_VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA, USA_

*Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 310 825 2576; fax: +1 310 794 9247.

E-mail addresses:[email protected], [email protected]

Submitted March 21, 2006; revised May 8, 2006; accepted June 19, 2006.

Abstract

Recent evidence points to a possible overlap in the neural systems underlying the distressing experience that accompanies physical pain and social rejection (Eisenberger et al., 2003). The present study tested two hypotheses that stem from this suggested overlap, namely: (1) that baseline sensitivity to physical pain will predict sensitivity to social rejection and (2) that experiences that heighten social distress will heighten sensitivity to physical pain as well. In the current study, participants’ baseline cutaneous heat pain unpleasantness thresholds were assessed prior to the completion of a task that manipulated feelings of social distress. During this task, participants played a virtual ball-tossing game, allegedly with two other individuals, in which they were either continuously included (social inclusion condition) or they were left out of the game by either never being included or by being overtly excluded (social rejection conditions). At the end of the game, three pain stimuli were delivered and participants rated the unpleasantness of each. Results indicated that greater baseline sensitivity to pain (lower pain unpleasantness thresholds) was associated with greater self-reported social distress in response to the social rejection conditions. Additionally, for those in the social rejection conditions, greater reports of social distress were associated with greater reports of pain unpleasantness to the thermal stimuli delivered at the end of the game. These results provide additional support for the hypothesis that pain distress and social distress share neurocognitive substrates. Implications for clinical populations are discussed.