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Abstract:

Background and aims: The acquisition and extinction of pain-related fear has previously been investigated using proprioceptive stimuli. However, the relevance of this for fear of touch-related pain has not been tested. This study aims to develop a fear-conditioning paradigm using tactile stimuli, to investigate the acquisition and extinction of cued pain-related fear and contextual pain-related anxiety in the tactile domain. Methods: The paradigm consisted of two within-subjects conditions: In the predictable condition, vibrotactile stimulation (conditioned stimulus: CS) of a fingertip was either paired with painful electrocutaneous stimulation (unconditioned stimulus: US) of the wrist, or was never paired with the US. In the unpredictable condition, the CS was never paired with the US. Instead, the US occurred at variable time points during the inter-trial interval. In the extinction phase there were three between-subjects groups: Extinction (only predictable trials), Exposure (only unpredictable trials), and Control (both predictable and unpredictable trials). For the Extinction and Exposure groups the US was not presented. Dependent variables were self-report ratings, including US expectancy and CS-evoked fear, as well as skin conductance, heart rate, and fear-potentiated startle reflex. Results: Data analysis is currently ongoing and results will be presented at the meeting. Conclusions: The results will demonstrate whether current findings relating to fear of movement-related pain can be generalized to another domain, specifically having implications for extending the fear-avoidance model to more generalized chronic pain disorders that are characterized by tactile allodynia.