Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2011 Jul-Sep;30(3):258-70.
doi: 10.1080/10550887.2011.581985.

Negative affect heightens opiate withdrawal-induced hyperalgesia in heroin dependent individuals

Luis M Carcoba  1 , Arturo E Contreras, Antonio Cepeda-Benito, Mary W Meagher
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Negative affect heightens opiate withdrawal-induced hyperalgesia in heroin dependent individuals

Luis M Carcoba et al. J Addict Dis. 2011 Jul-Sep.

Abstract

This study examined the effect of emotion on opiate withdrawal induced hyperalgesia to determine whether emotional states modulate the magnitude of hyperalgesia. One hundred Hispanic men were recruited into one of three groups: heroin withdrawal, long-term heroin abstinence, and control. Participants were presented with pictures to induce neutral, positive, and negative emotional states. Affective valence, arousal, pain threshold, and tolerance to ischemic pain were measured. When pain threshold and tolerance were compared, the withdrawal group displayed significant heightened pain sensitivity when negative affect was induced. The authors also found that former heroin addicts showed heightened pain sensitivity following months of abstinence.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Experimental Procedure (Timeline).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mean valence (2A) and arousal (2B) scores of the experimental groups after viewing positive, neutral and negative pictures. Error bars indicate SEM. (*) Asterisk p<0.05, (**) Asterisks p<0.01.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effects of drug history on ischemic pain threshold (3A) and tolerance (3B) of the experimental groups. Error bars indicate SEM. (*) Asterisk p<0.05.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Effects of picture content on ischemic pain threshold (4A) and tolerance (4B) of the experimental groups. Error bars indicate SEM. (*) Asterisk p<0.05.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Merskey Editorial The need of a taxonomy. Pain. 1979;6:247–252.
    1. de Wied M, Verbaten MN. Affective pictures processing, attention, and pain tolerance. Pain. 2001;90:163–172. - PubMed
    1. Gelkopf M, Kreitler S. Is humor only fun, and alternative cure or magic? The cognitive therapeutic potential of humor. J Cognit Psychother. 1996;10:235–254.
    1. Godinho F, Magnin M, Frot M, Perchet C, Garcia-Larrea L. Emotional modulation of pain: Is It the Sensation or What We Recall. The Journal of Neuroscience. 2006;26(44):11454–11461. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Meagher MW, Arnau RC, Rhudy JL. Pain and emotion: effects of affective picture modulation. Psychosom Med. 2001;63:79–90. - PubMed

Publication types