Key result
Greater mental flexibility correlates with lower pain severity, while response inhibition links to worse disability.
Why the study?
The study investigated the relations between aspects of perceived pain and different measurements of executive functions, beyond the influence of depression, during medical rehabilitation.
Are executive functions associated with perceived pain in rehabilitation patients, independent of depression?
Observational (n=81)
Are executive functions associated with perceived pain in rehabilitation patients, independent of depression?
Effect estimate: r = -0.31
p-value: p=0.006
Executive functions, specifically mental flexibility and response inhibition, are associated with perceived pain and pain disability in rehabilitation patients, independent of depression.
Executive functions were associated with pain severity and disability independent of depression; leaves open whether targeting cognition improves rehabilitation outcomes.
We investigated the relations between several aspects of Perceived Pain (PP) and different measurements of Executive Functions (EFs), above the influence of depression, in the context of medical rehabilitation. Eighty-one neurologically intact patients participated in this study in their sub-acute stage of recovery. Different aspects of EFs were assessed using the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), the Stop-Signal Test (SST) and the Digit Span Backward subtest of the WAIS-III (Span-B). Different aspects of PP were measured: Pain Disability Index (PDI), The Short-Form McGill Questionnaire (SF-MPQ) and the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS). Depression symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire. The results indicate that irrespective of the presence of depression, mental flexibility is correlated with pain disability and pain severity (WSCT – PDI partial correlation: r = −.23; p=.047, WSCT – SF-MPQ partial correlation: r = −.31; p = .006). Response inhibition is correlated with pain disability (SST – PDI partial correlation: r = .37; p = .001). Updating was not correlated with any of the PP aspects. These results remain much the same after removing the chronic pain patients from the analyses. The present study emphasizes the multidimensional nature of the term “perceived pain”, as well as the term “executive functions”, and the relations between them.
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Elkana et al. (2019) conducted an observational in Sub-acute stage of recovery in medical rehabilitation (n=81). Executive functions (mental flexibility, response inhibition, updating) was evaluated on Perceived pain (pain disability and pain severity) (r = -0.31, p=0.006). Mental flexibility was negatively correlated with pain severity (r = -0.31; p=0.006) and disability (r = -0.23; p=0.047), while response inhibition correlated with pain disability (r = 0.37; p=0.001).
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