scholarly journals Patients in Pain: The Effects of Oxytocin on Trust and Decision Making

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 164-166
Author(s):  
Preston A. Long ◽  
Harry Freeman
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Analgesic Effect ◽  
Animal Studies ◽  
Pain Perception ◽  
Rating Scales ◽  
Social Behaviors ◽  
Interactive Effects ◽  
Relieve Pain ◽  
Promising Area ◽  
Delayed Discounting

Oxytocin (OT) is a naturally occurring hormone produce by the hypothalamus. While a growing body of work has focused on the role of OT in modulating human social cognition, a somewhat neglected but promising area of study is how OT effects pain perception and pain behavior. Animal studies consistently support OT as an analgesic but human studies are few and somewhat mixed. The current study explores whether the analgesic effect of OT diminish maladaptive decision making associated with pain, both directly and indirectly. At the same time, pain-related positive social behaviors such as trust and cooperation, may be heightened under the influence of oxytocin. Intranasal OT (24 IU) versus placebo trials were separated by a one-week washout period. The primary outcome measures include three indicators of change in social capital, including trust, cooperation, and safety perceptions. Furthermore, the analgesic effect of OT on pain sensitivity is evaluated in the context of interactive effects with pro social decision making. Behavioral rating scales examined delayed discounting, impulsivity, and loss aversion. In addition to behavioral measures, urine samples were collected to assess subject OT saturation and saliva samples were collected to test for genetic markers associated with pain and trust. We first examined if OT has a main effect (i.e., generalized) on pain perception and secondly, if pain-related social behavior is moderated by OT. Results support OT as a potential analgesic. Additionally, OT may not only act to relieve pain but may also reinforce other adaptive social behaviors exhibited by people in pain.

Interactive Effects of Acute Suicidal Affective Disturbance and Pain Persistence on Suicide Attempt Frequency and Lethality

Crisis ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 413-421 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan L. Rogers ◽  
Thomas E. Joiner
Keyword(s):  
Suicide Attempt ◽  
Suicidal Behavior ◽  
Pain Perception ◽  
Suicide Attempts ◽  
Pain Tolerance ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Interactive Effects ◽  
Physical Pain ◽  
Affective Disturbance ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract. Background: Acute suicidal affective disturbance (ASAD) has been proposed as a suicide-specific entity that confers risk for imminent suicidal behavior. Preliminary evidence suggests that ASAD is associated with suicidal behavior beyond a number of factors; however, no study to date has examined potential moderating variables.  Aims: The present study tested the hypotheses that physical pain persistence would moderate the relationship between ASAD and (1) lifetime suicide attempts and (2) attempt lethality. Method: Students ( N = 167) with a history of suicidality completed self-report measures assessing the lifetime worst-point ASAD episode and the presence of a lifetime suicide attempt, a clinical interview about attempt lethality, and a physical pain tolerance task. Results: Physical pain persistence was a significant moderator of the association between ASAD and lifetime suicide attempts ( B = 0.00001, SE = 0.000004, p = .032), such that the relationship between ASAD and suicide attempts strengthened at increasing levels of pain persistence. The interaction between ASAD and pain persistence in relation to attempt lethality was nonsignificant ( B = 0.000004, SE = 0.00001, p = .765). Limitations: This study included a cross-sectional/retrospective analysis of worst-point ASAD symptoms, current physical pain perception, and lifetime suicide attempts. Conclusion: ASAD may confer risk for suicidal behavior most strongly at higher levels of pain persistence, whereas ASAD and pain perception do not influence attempt lethality.

scholarly journals GABA Supplementation Negatively Affects Cognitive Flexibility Independent of Tyrosine

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 1807
Author(s):  
Lee Wei Lim ◽  
Luca Aquili
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Task Switching ◽  
Animal Studies ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Interactive Effects ◽  
Dopamine Synthesis ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
Performance Improvements ◽  
Two Measures ◽  
Healthy Participants

Increasing evidence, particularly from animal studies, suggests that dopamine and GABA are important modulators of cognitive flexibility. In humans, increasing dopamine synthesis through its precursor tyrosine has been shown to result in performance improvements, but few studies have reported the effects of GABA supplementation in healthy participants. We conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized experiment to test the interactive effects of tyrosine and GABA administration on two measures of cognitive flexibility, response inhibition and task switching. A total of 48 healthy volunteers were split into four groups (placebo, tyrosine alone, GABA alone, and tyrosine and GABA combined). They completed cognitive flexibility tasks at baseline and after drug administration. We found that tyrosine alone had no impact on the measures of cognitive flexibility, whereas GABA alone and in combination with tyrosine worsened task switching. Our results provide preliminary evidence that putative increases in GABA and dopamine synthesis do not interact to affect cognitive flexibility performance.

Sucrose as an Analgesic for Newborns

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 88 (6) ◽  
pp. 1287-1288
Author(s):  
EDGAR J. SCHOEN
Keyword(s):  
Newborn Screening ◽  
Analgesic Effect ◽  
Blood Collection ◽  
Relieve Pain ◽  
Oral Sucrose

To the Editor.— Blass and Hoffmeyer1 are to be congratulated for documenting the simple noninvasive use of a sucrose-flavored pacifier to relieve pain in newborns. In well-controlled studies they showed that not only did this benign therapy decrease distress during blood collection for routine newborn screening, but it also reduced crying more than 50% during circumcision. Earlier work by Blass and others indicated that a pacifying stimulus as well as oral sucrose relieves pain2-4 and that this analgesic effect is mediated through opiate pathways.5-7

scholarly journals The Effects of Central Angiotensin II and Its Specific Blockers on Nociception. Possible Interactions with Oxidative Stress Status / Efekti Centralnog Angiotenzina II I Njegovih Specifičnih Blokatora Na Nocicepciju. Moguće Interakcije Sa Statusom Oksidativnog Stresa

2013 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oana Arcan ◽  
Alin Ciobica ◽  
Walther Bild ◽  
Bogdan Stoica ◽  
Lucian Hritcu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oxidative Stress ◽  
Angiotensin Ii ◽  
Analgesic Effect ◽  
Pain Perception ◽  
Ace Inhibitor ◽  
Renin Angiotensin System ◽  
Latency Time ◽  
Ang Ii ◽  
Hot Plate ◽  
At2 Receptors

SummaryIt has already been demonstrated that a complete brain renin-angiotensin system (RAS) exists distinctly separate from the peripheral system and is implicated in complex functions such as memory, emotional responses and pain. Regarding the implications of angiotensin II (the main bioactive peptide of RAS) in pain, although there are many studies in this area of research, most of the results are controversial. Also, it seems that oxidative stress follows angiotensin II infusion, but the role of AT1 vs. AT2 receptors is not well established. In this context, we were interested in studying the effects of central RAS on nociception, through the intracerebroventricular administration of losartan and PD-123177 (antagonists for the AT1/AT2 receptors), as well as an ACE inhibitor (captopril) and also angiotensin II in rats, which were subsequently tested using the hot-plate task, a well known behavioral test for pain perception. We present here the analgesic effect of angiotensin II administration, as shown by in creased latency-time in the hot-plate, as well as a nociceptive effect of angiotensin II blockers like AT1 and AT2 specific antagonists (losartan and PD-123177) and an ACE inhibitor (captopril), as their administration resulted in decreased latency-time. Moreover, we demonstrated a significant correlation between the results of the nociceptive behavioral task and the levels of some main oxidative stress markers. This provides additional evidence for an analgesic effect of Ang II administration, as well as for a nociceptive effect of Ang II blockers. Moreover, a significant correlation between the nociception and angiotensin II-induced oxidative stress is presented.

scholarly journals Reward Processing under Chronic Pain from the Perspective of “Liking” and “Wanting”: A Narrative Review

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Xinhe Liu ◽  
Ning Wang ◽  
Lijia Gu ◽  
Jianyou Guo ◽  
Jinyan Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Chronic Pain ◽  
Animal Studies ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Reward Processing ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Incentive Salience ◽  
Therapeutic Goals ◽  
Relieve Pain

The therapeutic goals of patients with chronic pain are not only to relieve pain but also to improve the quality of life. Chronic pain negatively affects various aspects of daily life, such as by decreasing the motivation to work and reward sensitivity, which may lead to difficulties in daily life or even unemployment. Human and animal studies have shown that chronic pain damages reward processing; the exploration of associated internal mechanisms may aid the development of treatments to repair this damage. Incentive salience theory, used widely to describe reward processing, divides this processing into “liking” (reward-induced hedonic sensory impact) and “wanting” (reward-induced motivation) components. It has been employed to explain pathological changes in reward processing induced by psychiatric disorders. In this review, we summarize the findings of studies of reward processing under chronic pain and examine the effects of chronic pain on “liking” and “wanting.” Evidence indicates that chronic pain compromises the “wanting” component of reward processing; we also discuss the neural mechanisms that may mediate this effect. We hope that this review aids the development of therapies to improve the quality of life of patients with chronic pain.

scholarly journals Interactions between decision-making and emotion in behavioral-variant frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer’s disease

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 681-694
Author(s):  
Aurélie L Manuel ◽  
Daniel Roquet ◽  
Ramon Landin-Romero ◽  
Fiona Kumfor ◽  
Rebekah M Ahmed ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Frontotemporal Dementia ◽  
Delay Discounting ◽  
Animal Studies ◽  
Negative Emotion ◽  
Emotion Processing ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Behavioral Variant Frontotemporal Dementia

Abstract Negative and positive emotions are known to shape decision-making toward more or less impulsive responses, respectively. Decision-making and emotion processing are underpinned by shared brain regions including the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and the amygdala. How these processes interact at the behavioral and brain levels is still unclear. We used a lesion model to address this question. Study participants included individuals diagnosed with behavioral-variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD, n = 18), who typically present deficits in decision-making/emotion processing and atrophy of the vmPFC, individuals with Alzheimer’s disease (AD, n = 12) who present with atrophy in limbic structures and age-matched healthy controls (CTRL, n = 15). Prior to each choice on the delay discounting task participants were cued with a positive, negative or neutral picture and asked to vividly imagine witnessing the event. As hypothesized, our findings showed that bvFTD patients were more impulsive than AD patients and CTRL and did not show any emotion-related modulation of delay discounting rate. In contrast, AD patients showed increased impulsivity when primed by negative emotion. This increased impulsivity was associated with reduced integrity of bilateral amygdala in AD but not in bvFTD. Altogether, our results indicate that decision-making and emotion interact at the level of the amygdala supporting findings from animal studies.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document