The DOI matches its Crossref record; 44 of the 45 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Pain catastrophizing and neural responses to pain among persons with fibromyalgia
Abstract
Pain catastrophizing, or characterizations of pain as awful, horrible and unbearable, is increasingly being recognized as an important factor in the experience of pain. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the association between catastrophizing, as measured by the Coping Strategies Questionnaire Catastrophizing Subscale, and brain responses to blunt pressure assessed by functional MRI among 29 subjects with fibromyalgia. Since catastrophizing has been suggested to augment pain perception through enhanced attention to painful stimuli, and heightened emotional responses to pain, we hypothesized that catastrophizing would be positively associated with activation in structures believed to be involved in these aspects of pain processing. As catastrophizing is also strongly associated with depression, the influence of depressive symptomatology was statistically removed. Residual scores of catastrophizing controlling for depressive symptomatology were significantly associated with increased activity in the ipsilateral claustrum (r = 0.51, P < 0.05), cerebellum (r = 0.43, P < 0.05), dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (r = 0.47, P < 0.05), and parietal cortex (r = 0.41, P < 0.05), and in the contralateral dorsal anterior cingulate gyrus (ACC; r = 0.43, P < 0.05), dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (r = 0.41, P < 0.05), medial frontal cortex (r = 0.40, P < 0.05) and lentiform nuclei (r = 0.40, P < 0.05). Analysis of subjects classified as high or low catastrophizers, based on a median split of residual catastrophizing scores, showed that both groups displayed significant increases in ipsilateral secondary somatosensory cortex (SII), although the magnitude of activation was twice as large among high catastrophizers. Both groups also had significant activations in contralateral insula, SII, primary somatosensory cortex (SI), inferior parietal lobule and thalamus. High catastrophizers displayed unique activation in the contralateral anterior ACC, and the contralateral and ipsilateral lentiform. Both groups also displayed significant ipsilateral activation in SI, anterior and posterior cerebellum, posterior cingulate gyrus, and superior and inferior frontal gyrus. These findings suggest that pain catastrophizing, independent of the influence of depression, is significantly associated with increased activity in brain areas related to anticipation of pain (medial frontal cortex, cerebellum), attention to pain (dorsal ACC, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex), emotional aspects of pain (claustrum, closely connected to amygdala) and motor control. These results support the hypothesis that catastrophizing influences pain perception through altering attention and anticipation, and heightening emotional responses to pain. Activation associated with catastrophizing in motor areas of the brain may reflect expressive responses to pain that are associated with greater pain catastrophizing.
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In the citing paper
“Pain catastrophizing has been also associated with cognitive and emotional aspects of pain that alter pain perception [14].”
From Nocebo hyperalgesia and other expectancy-related factors in daily fibromyalgia pain: Combining experimental and electronic diary methods (2024) · cites this paper as [14]
In the citing paper
“Although the contribution found is small, the direction of our finding corresponds with the literature [14,15].”
From Nocebo hyperalgesia and other expectancy-related factors in daily fibromyalgia pain: Combining experimental and electronic diary methods (2024) · cites this paper as [14]
In the citing paper
“Lack of social support at work, dissatisfaction with co-workers, and interactions with the disability compensation system are among the most potent predictors of pain-related work disability 89, 131, 132.”
From Evaluating psychosocial contributions to chronic pain outcomes (2018) · cites this paper as [132]
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The Cerebral Signature for Pain Perception and Its Modulation
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The role of psychosocial processes in the development and maintenance of chronic pain
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Fibromyalgia: an update on clinical characteristics, aetiopathogenesis and treatment
Sarzi‐Puttini, P., Giorgi, V., Marotto, D., & Atzeni, F. (2020) · Nature Reviews Rheumatology · doi:10.1038/s41584-020-00506-w · Cited by 899
Metadata
- Authors
- Gracely, R. H.
- Affiliations
- University of Michigan (US)
- Corresponding author
- Gracely, R. H.
- Venue
- Brain
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2004-01-14
- Volume
- 127
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 835-843
- ISSN
- 0006-8950 (ISSN-L)
- 1460-2156
- OpenAlex
- W2114943199
- Cited by
- 892
- References
- 45
- Citations by year
- 2026: 28 · 2025: 25 · 2024: 31 · 2023: 40 · 2022: 28 · 2021: 20 · 2020: 47 · 2019: 40 · 2018: 49 · 2017: 36 · 2016: 43 · 2015: 43 · 2014: 45 · 2013: 43 · 2012: 34
- FWCI
- 18.94
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Brain (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Georgetown University
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Research
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Pain Management and Placebo Effect
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology (medical) › Pain Mechanisms and Treatments
- Keywords
- pain catastrophizing, fibromyalgia, brain activation, claustrum, anterior cingulate cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, cerebellum, somatosensory cortex, insula, lentiform nucleus, depression, attention to pain, emotional response to pain, secondary somatosensory cortex
- MeSH terms
- Adaptation, Psychological, Adolescent, Adult, Brain, Depression, Female, Fibromyalgia, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Middle Aged, Pain, Pain Measurement, Perception
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