Rumination and interoceptive accuracy predict the occurrence of the thermal grill illusion of pain

Abstract

BackgroundWhile the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying the thermal grill illusion of pain (TGI) have been thoroughly studied, psychological determinants largely remain unknown. The present study aimed to investigate whether cognitive and affective personality traits encompassing rumination, interoception, and suggestibility may be identified as characteristics favouring the elicitation of paradoxical pain experiences.MethodsThe dominant hand of 54 healthy volunteers was stimulated with a water-bath driven thermal grill providing an interlaced temperature combination of 15 and 41°C. Pain intensity and pain unpleasantness perceptions were rated on a combined verbal-numerical scale (NRS). Traits were assessed via questionnaires, the heartbeat-tracking task, and warmth suggestions.ResultsLogistic regression analyses uncovered trait rumination and interoceptive accuracy (IA) as major predictors of the likelihood of the illusive pain occurrence (all p < .05). Rumination and suggestibility had an impact on unpleasant pain perceptions.ConclusionOur findings allowed identifying psychological factors substantially involved in the individual pre-disposition to reporting painful sensations in the thermal grill paradigm. These psychological characteristics may also be relevant in the context of central neuropathic pain, which to a large extent incorporates the same neural pathways.

Discrepancies between dimensions of interoception in autism: Implications for emotion and anxiety

“…Correspondingly, people with higher interoceptive accuracy on heartbeat detection tasks report a greater intensity of emotional experience (Pollatos, Traut-Mattausch, Schroeder, & Schandry, 2007;Wiens, Mezzacappa, & Katkin, 2000). Moreover, individual differences in interoception influence vulnerability to both physical and psychological symptoms (Dunn et al, 2010;Schaefer, Egloff, Gerlach, & Witthoft, 2014;Scheuren, Sutterlin, & Anton, 2014). Together, these findings support the proposal that detection of bodily sensations can shape emotional and affective experience.…”

Blood pressure and the perception of illusive pain

“…Psychological mechanisms may moreover be considered as relevant factors contributing to the association between BP and susceptibility to paradoxical pain. In a recent study, we identified rumination as a positive predictor of the occurrence of the TGI in healthy individuals (Scheuren et al, ). As an expression of poor emotional regulation, rumination involves the tendency to think repetitively and passively about situations causing negative emotions and to focus on symptoms of distress (Kubzansky, Davidson, & Rozanski, ).…”

“…The experimental procedure was comprised of a TG stimulation condition and two control conditions (CC1 and CC2; cf. Scheuren et al, ). Each condition included three stimulation blocks.…”

“…These individuals have been denoted as “responders,” whereas those who are not susceptible to TG stimulation have been classified as “nonresponders” (Boettger et al, ; Lindstedt et al, ). While the role of psychophysiological features like BP or BRS in interindividual differences in paradoxical pain has not yet been investigated, psychological characteristics such as rumination and interoceptive sensitivity were identified as predictors of the occurrence of the TGI, with higher expressions of these traits making the experience of paradoxical pain more likely (Scheuren, Sütterlin, & Anton, ). In another line of research, the TG paradigm was proposed as a model for the investigation of central neuropathic pain (Craig, ), where depression and sad mood were associated with more pronounced TG‐activated central nervous pain processing and enhanced illusive pain sensations (Boettger et al, ; Piñerua‐Shuhaibar, Villalobos, Delgado, Rubio, & Suarez‐Roca, ).…”

Thermal grill conditioning: Effect on contact heat evoked potentials

“…The overall reliability and validity of the PCS has been demonstrated in earlier studies26272829. Previous studies have demonstrated significant correlations with endogenous pain modulation and PCS303132, and the TGI and PCS33.…”