Pain-related mood influences pain perception differently in fibromyalgia and multiple sclerosis

Abstract

Céline Borg,1–3 Catherine Padovan,4,5 Catherine Thomas-Antérion,1,2 Céline Chanial,1 Anaïs Sanchez,1,5 Marion Godot,6 Roland Peyron,1,6,7 Odile De Parisot,5 Bernard Laurent1,6,71Neurology/Neuropsychology, Center Memory of Resources and Research Unit, North Saint-Etienne University Hospital Center, Avenue Albert Raimond, Saint-Priest-en-Jarez, France; 2Study of Cognitive Mechansims Laboratory, 3Psychology Unit, University Lumière of Lyon 2, Bron, France; 4Brain Dynamics and Cognition, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center and Vinatier Hospital Center, Bron, France; 5Germaine Revel Center, Dargoire, France; 6Pain Center, North Saint-Etienne University Hospital Center, Saint-Priest-en-Jarez, France; 7Central Integration of Pain, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Bron, FranceAbstract: In patients, the perception of pain intensity may be influenced by the subjective representation of their disease. Although both multiple sclerosis (MS) and fibromyalgia (FM) possibly include chronic pain, they seem to elicit different disease representations because of the difference in their respective etiology, the former presenting evidence of underlying lesions as opposed to the latter. Thus, we investigated whether patients with FM differed from patients with MS with respect to their perception of “own” pain as well as others' pain. In addition, the psychological concomitant factors associated with chronic pain were considered. Chronic pain patients with FM (n=13) or with MS (n=13) participated in this study. To assess specific pain-related features, they were contrasted with 12 other patients with MS but without chronic pain and 31 controls. A questionnaire describing imaginary painful situations showed that FM patients rated situations applied to themselves as less painful than did the controls. Additionally, pain intensity attributed to facial expressions was estimated as more intense in FM compared with the other groups of participants. There is good evidence that the mood and catastrophizing reactions expressed in FM differentially modulated the perception of pain according to whether it was their own pain or other's pain.Keywords: chronic pain, self and other's perspective, imaginary pain, facial expression