Age-Dependent Decline of Endogenous Pain Control: Exploring the Effect of Expectation and Depression
Open Access
- 27 September 2013
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Public Library of Science (PLoS) in PLOS ONE
- Vol. 8 (9), e75629
- https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0075629
Abstract
Although chronic pain affects all age ranges, it is particularly common in the elderly. One potential explanation for the high prevalence of chronic pain in the older population is impaired functioning of the descending pain inhibitory system which can be studied in humans using conditioned pain modulation (CPM) paradigms. In this study we investigated (i) the influence of age on CPM and (ii) the role of expectations, depression and gender as potential modulating variables of an age-related change in CPM. 64 healthy volunteers of three different age groups (young = 20–40 years, middle-aged = 41–60 years, old = 61–80 years) were studied using a classical CPM paradigm that combined moderate heat pain stimuli to the right forearm as test stimuli (TS) and immersion of the contralateral foot into ice water as the conditioning stimulus (CS). The CPM response showed an age-dependent decline with strong CPM responses in young adults but no significant CPM responses in middle-aged and older adults. These age-related changes in CPM responses could not be explained by expectations of pain relief or depression. Furthermore, changes in CPM responses did not differ between men and women. Our results strongly support the notion of a genuine deterioration of descending pain inhibitory mechanisms with age.Keywords
This publication has 50 references indexed in Scilit:
- Brain development and aging: Overlapping and unique patterns of changeNeuroImage, 2012
- Gender differences in pain modulation by diffuse noxious inhibitory controls: A systematic reviewPain, 2010
- Cerebral and Cerebrospinal Processes Underlying Counterirritation AnalgesiaJournal of Neuroscience, 2009
- DRD3 Ser9Gly Polymorphism Is Related to Thermal Pain Perception and Modulation in Chronic Widespread Pain Patients and Healthy ControlsThe Journal of Pain, 2009
- Changes in Pain Perception and Descending Inhibitory Controls Start at Middle Age in Healthy AdultsThe Clinical Journal of Pain, 2007
- Trafficking of Central Opioid Receptors and Descending Pain InhibitionMolecular Pain, 2007
- Comorbid Depression, Chronic Pain, and Disability in Primary CarePsychosomatic Medicine, 2006
- A comparison of diffuse noxious inhibitory controls in men and womenPain, 1999
- Effects of heterotopic conditioning stimuli on first and second pain: A psychophysical evaluation in humansPain, 1988
- Diffuse noxious inhibitory controls (DNIC). I. Effects on dorsal horn convergent neurones in the ratPain, 1979