Key result
Mental stress tasks during thermal pain significantly increased muscle sympathetic nerve activity and reduced pain intensity, whereas a control task had no effect.
Why the study?
Does central sympathetic drive (MSNA) induced by mental stress impact endogenous pain control in healthy men?
Does central sympathetic drive (MSNA) induced by mental stress impact endogenous pain control in healthy men?
Central sympathetic drive, as measured by MSNA during mental stress, plays a role in endogenous pain control and analgesia.
No immediate implications for clinical pain management; leaves open sympathetic contributions to endogenous analgesia.
The interaction between sympathetic vasoconstrictor activity to muscles [muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA), burst frequency (BF) and burst incidence (BI)] and different stress and somatosensory stimuli is still unclear. Eighteen healthy men (median age 28 years) underwent microneurography recordings from the peroneal nerve. MSNA was recorded during heat pain (HP) and cold pain (CP) alone as well as combined with different stress tasks (mental arithmetic, singing, giving a speech). An additional nine healthy men (median age 26 years) underwent the stimulation protocol with an additional control task (thermal pain combined with listening to music) to evaluate possible attentional confounders. MSNA was significantly increased by CP and HP. CP-evoked responses were smaller. The diastolic blood pressure followed the time course of MSNA while heart rate remained unchanged. The mental stress tasks further increased MSNA and were sufficient to reduce pain while the control task had no effect. MSNA activity correlated negatively with pain intensity and positively with analgesia. High blood pressure values were associated with lower pain intensity. Our study indicates an impact of central sympathetic drive on pain and pain control.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Lautenschläger et al. (2015) studied Healthy (n=27). Mental stress tasks during thermal pain vs. Thermal pain alone or combined with a control task (listening to music) was evaluated on Muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) and pain intensity. Mental stress tasks during thermal pain significantly increased muscle sympathetic nerve activity and reduced pain intensity, whereas a control task had no effect.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: