The effects of imagery and sensory detection distractors on different measures of pain : How does distraction work? (original) (raw)
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The role of motivation in distracting attention away from pain: An experimental study
Pain, 2010
Research on the effectiveness of distraction as a method of pain control is inconclusive. One mechanism pertains to the motivational relevance of distraction tasks. In this study the motivation to engage in a distraction task during pain was experimentally manipulated. Undergraduate students (N=73) participated in a cold pressor test (CPT) and were randomly assigned to three groups: a distraction-only group performed a tone-detection task during ther CPT, a motivated-distraction group performed the same task and received a monetary reward for good task performance, and a control group did not perform the tone-detection task. Results indicated that engagement in the distraction task was better in the motivated-distraction group in comparison with the distraction-only group. Participants in both distraction groups experienced less pain compared to the control group. There were no overall differences in pain intensity between the two distraction groups. The effect of distraction was influenced by the level of catastrophic thinking about pain. For low catastrophizers, both distraction groups reported less pain as compared to the nondistracted control group. This was not the case for high catastrophizers. For high catastrophizers it mattered whether the distraction task was motivationally relevant: High catastrophizers reported less intense pain in the motivated distraction group, as compared to the non-distracted control group. We conclude that increasing the motivational relevance of the distraction task may increase the effects of distraction, especially for those who catastrophize about pain.
A comparison of the effect of attention training and relaxation on responses to pain
Pain, 2010
This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of an attention training technique (ATT) on pain ratings, threshold and tolerance during the cold pressor task. One hundred and three undergraduate students were randomly assigned to receive either threat-alleviating or threat-inducing information about the task. Participants were then re-randomized to receive either ATT or progressive muscle relaxation (PMR). Hence, the present study had a 2 (threat expectancy: high vs. low) Â 2 (training: ATT vs. PMR) design. Analyses confirmed that the threat manipulation was effective in increasing the harm associated with the task. ATT resulted in a relative reduction in hypervigilance to sensory pain words compared to PMR. ATT was also associated with a lower degree of focus on internal sensations, but not mindfulness or difficulty disengaging from pain words. Results showed that, relative to relaxation training, those receiving ATT reported pain less quickly than those receiving relaxation, although there were no differences between the training groups for tolerance or pain ratings. These results show that ATT changes the cognitive processes of internal/external focus and hypervigilance towards sensory pain words, but not difficulty disengaging or mindfulness. Although ATT changed threshold, the fact that neither pain ratings nor tolerance was affected suggests that a single, brief session of ATT may not be sufficient to affect broader change. Nonetheless, this study shows that ATT can change cognitive processes thought to be associated with heightened perception of pain and that this changes how quickly pain is registered and is therefore worthy of further investigation. Crown
Pain and Attention: Attentional Disruption or Distraction?
The Journal of Pain, 2006
The effect of pain processing on attention capacity during visual search was examined in 2 experiments. In the first experiment, we investigated whether pain draws on the same limited resources as attentional task performance. It was hypothesized that pain would negatively affect task performance under different load manipulations. Low and high load conditions of a visual search task were presented in a mixed design combined with a painfully cold or neutral cold pressor test. Performance was not affected by pain. In experiment 2, low and high load conditions were separated in different blocks to study whether pain perception was affected when task load could be anticipated. Again, pain did not significantly affect task performance. In contrast, subjective pain intensity scores were significantly lower after performing the high load compared with the low load condition. Simultaneous recordings of event-related potentials indicated an increased negativity during the pain compared with the control condition. Also, in the early (350 to 450 msec) interval of event-related potentials, an increase in negativity was found for the high load compared with the low load condition. Topographic distributions suggested that pain and task load are mediated by qualitatively different resources.
… & Biobehavioral Reviews, 2010
Attention is a key concept in many theories of pain perception. A clinically popular idea is that pain is more intense in persons who are hypervigilant for or bias their attention to pain information. So far, evidence for such bias in pain patients as compared to healthy persons is inconclusive. Furthermore, studies investigating the effects of distracting attention away from pain have shown contradictory results. In this review, we present a motivational perspective on attentional processing of pain that accounts for these inconclusive research findings. We argue that pain always has to be considered within a context of goal pursuit. From this perspective, two largely unexplored theoretical assumptions are introduced. First, when pain occurs during the pursuit of a certain goal, it may unintentionally capture attention although it is not relevant for the goal. Whether such unintentional attentional capture happens is not only dependent upon the characteristics of the pain but also on the characteristics of the focal goal. Second, attention to pain and pain-related information might be driven by a focal goal related to pain. Attentional processing of pain information will be particularly enhanced when the focal goal is related to pain management (e.g., attempting to gain control). Future research has to systematically investigate the role of motivation and goal pursuit in the attentional processing of pain-related information. This motivational perspective offers a powerful framework to explain inter- and intra-individual differences in the deployment of attention to pain-related information.
EFFECT OF DISTRACTION METHODS ON ACUTE PAIN IN ADULTS: RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL
Med J SDU / SDÜ Tıp Fak Derg, 2023
Objective This study aims to determine the pain experienced by adult patients during the bloodletting procedure and to reveal the effect of visual and auditory methods on the level of pain compared to routine bloodletting procedures. Material and Method The study was conducted as a randomized controlled trial. The study was carried out in a blood collection unit of a hospital on 15.01.2022. A total of ninety-nine patients were randomized into three groups (visual, auditory, and control groups). Visual Group patients were asked to focus on the nature photograph on the screen, and the Auditory Group patients were asked to focus on the nature sounds they listened to. Data were collected using the Personal Information Form and the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). In the analysis of the data, descriptive statistical methods, Kruskal- Wallis, Pearson Chi-Square, and Monte Carlo Exact Tests were used. The significance level was taken as p<0.05 and p<0.001. Results No statistically significant difference was found between the visual and auditory groups (p>0.05). However, the pain levels of the patients in the visual and auditory groups were found lower than the pain levels of the patients in the control group (p<0.001). Conclusion This study reveals the positive effect of distraction on the level of acute pain in adults. The study proves that visual and audial methods can be used safely within the scope of distraction methods and presents evidence-based information.
Pain, 2011
Clinical evidence suggests that a persistent search for solutions for chronic pain may bring along costs at the cognitive, affective, and behavioral level. Specifically, attempts to control pain may fuel hypervigilance and prioritize attention towards pain-related information. This hypothesis was investigated in an experiment with 41 healthy volunteers. Prioritization of attention towards a signal for pain was measured using an adaptation of a visual search paradigm in which participants had to search for a target presented in a varying number of colored circles. One of these colors (Conditioned Stimulus) became a signal for pain (Unconditioned Stimulus: electrocutaneous stimulus at tolerance level) using a classical conditioning procedure. Intermixed with the visual search task, participants also performed another task. In the pain-control group, participants were informed that correct and fast responses on trials of this second task would result in an avoidance of the Unconditioned Stimulus. In the comparison group, performance on the second task was not instrumental in controlling pain. Results showed that in the paincontrol group, attention was more prioritized towards the Conditioned Stimulus than in the comparison group. The theoretical and clinical implications of these results are discussed.
Decreased Pain Perception by Unconscious Emotional Pictures
Frontiers in Psychology, 2016
Pain perception arises from a complex interaction between a nociceptive stimulus and different emotional and cognitive factors, which appear to be mediated by both automatic and controlled systems. Previous evidence has shown that whereas conscious processing of unpleasant stimuli enhances pain perception, emotional influences on pain under unaware conditions are much less known. The aim of the present study was to investigate the modulation of pain perception by unconscious emotional pictures through an emotional masking paradigm. Two kinds of both somatosensory (painful and non-painful) and emotional stimulation (negative and neutral pictures) were employed. Fifty pain-free participants were asked to rate the perception of pain they were feeling in response to laser-induced somatosensory stimuli as faster as they can. Data from pain intensity and reaction times were measured. Statistical analyses revealed a significant effect for the interaction between pain and emotional stimulation, but surprisingly this relationship was opposite to expected. In particular, lower pain intensity scores and longer reaction times were found in response to negative images being strengthened this effect for painful stimulation. Present findings suggest a clear pain perception modulation by unconscious emotional contexts. Attentional capture mechanisms triggered by unaware negative stimulation could explain this phenomenon leading to a withdrawal of processing resources from pain.
Keeping pain in mind: A motivational account of attention to pain
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 2010
Attention is a key concept in many theories of pain perception. A clinically popular idea is that pain is more intense in persons who are hypervigilant for or bias their attention to pain information. So far, evidence for such bias in pain patients as compared to healthy persons is inconclusive. Furthermore, studies investigating the effects of distracting attention away from pain have shown contradictory results. In this review, we present a motivational perspective on attentional processing of pain that accounts for these inconclusive research findings. We argue that pain always has to be considered within a context of goal pursuit. From this perspective, two largely unexplored theoretical assumptions are introduced. First, when pain occurs during the pursuit of a certain goal, it may unintentionally capture attention although it is not relevant for the goal. Whether such unintentional attentional capture happens is not only dependent upon the characteristics of the pain but also on the characteristics of the focal goal. Second, attention to pain and pain-related information might be driven by a focal goal related to pain. Attentional processing of pain information will be particularly enhanced when the focal goal is related to pain management (e.g., attempting to gain control). Future research should systematically investigate the role of motivation and goal pursuit in the attentional processing of pain-related information. This motivational perspective offers a powerful framework to explain inter- and intra-individual differences in the deployment of attention to pain-related information.
Cognitive control of pain: Attention to the sensory aspects of the cold pressor stimulus
Cognitive Therapy and Research, 1983
Two studies were conducted to replicate and extend previous work on the distress-reducing effects of attention to the sensory aspects of a painful stimulus. In the first study subjects exposed to the cold pressor were randomly assigned to three groups: (1) Attention group, instructed to attend to the sensory components of the cold pressure experience by actively verbalizing the sensations they were experiencing; (2) Distraction group, instructed to name their high school courses and teachers; and (3) Emotive group, instructed to express emotion associated with the cold pressor experience. As predicted, the Attention group reported the least distress, the Emotive group the most, and the Distraction group an intermediate amount. The second study replicated the effects of the Attention and Distraction groups using threshold and tolerance as the main dependent measures. Tolerance but not threshold was significantly increased in the Attention group. A third study also examined subjects" predictions of how given strategies would affect pain tolerance. Subjects predicted that the Attention and Emotive strategies would increase pain, whereas Imagining Numbness and Positive Imagery would decrease pain.