Visual Quantitative Sensory Testing Provides Transdiagnostic Window into Behavioral and Functional Neural Correlates of Nociplastic Pain

Multisensory hypersensitivity to painful and non-painful stimuli, including light, is common among individuals with nociplastic pain. However, as nociplastic pain is often superimposed upon nociceptive and neuropathic pain, we hypothesized that the degree of nociplastic pain would predict the amount of sensory hypersensitivity in many chronic pain states. To assess this hypothesis, the present study investigated associations between evoked visual sensitivity, brain activation patterns, and clinical outcomes in participants with fibromyalgia (FM,n=45) - the prototypical nociplastic pain condition - and osteoarthritis (OA,n=41), rheumatoid arthritis (RA,n=32), carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS,n=17), and healthy controls (HC,n=35).
Source: The Journal of Pain - Category: Materials Science Authors: Source Type: research