Several findings underline a relationship between pain sensitivity and cognitive functions. Moreover, heart rate variability (HRV) is considered a reliable index of autonomic activity associated with both pain experience and executive functioning. Regardless of this evidence, there is a lack of studies that adopt the HRV to assess physiological changes in the relationship between pain and cognition. This study aims to investigate the role of cognitive inhibition in the autonomic responses to pain induction. A population of 76 healthy adults (47 females and 29 males; age, mean = 23.17, sd = 10.76) completed the experimental procedure. The Stroop Task and the Go-NoGo Task were administered to assess cognitive inhibition in a randomized order; the Cold Pressure Arm Wrap was adopted to induce cold pain; HRV was recorded during rest (5 minutes before the cognitive tasks) and reactivity phases; HRV was analyzed in the frequency domain (LF-HRV, HF-HRV, and LF/HF ratio). After pain assessment, participants filled in the PANAS. The results revealed: a) a positive correlation between pain measures (thresholds and tolerance) and cognitive inhibition; b) performance in the Stroop Task, but not in the Go-NoGo Task predicted pain tolerance; c) cognitive inhibition mediated the statistic difference between LF-HRV recorded at baseline and during painful stimulation. These findings suggest that individuals with higher cognitive inhibition are more likely to manage pain successfully, and this ability is sustained by an autonomic control over the environmental stressors. The relationship between pain tolerance and the performance in the Stroop Task, but not in GoNoGo Task, is probably due to the different processes involved in the two cognitive tasks: probably, pain tolerance involves processes and neural structures underling the inhibition of a dominant and automatic response, such as reading. Further studies, including a growing number of participants and other methods of pain induction, could be conducted to assess the relationship highlighted in this work better.
The role of cognitive inhibition in the autonomic responses to pain induction: an empirical study / Troisi, Giovanna; Casagrande, Maria; Favieri, Francesca; Forte, Giuseppe. - (2021). (Intervento presentato al convegno XXIX congresso nazionale Società Italiana di Psicofisiologia e Neuroscienze Cognitive, SIPF 2021 tenutosi a Palermo; Italy).
The role of cognitive inhibition in the autonomic responses to pain induction: an empirical study
Giovanna Troisi;Francesca Favieri;Giuseppe Forte
2021
Abstract
Several findings underline a relationship between pain sensitivity and cognitive functions. Moreover, heart rate variability (HRV) is considered a reliable index of autonomic activity associated with both pain experience and executive functioning. Regardless of this evidence, there is a lack of studies that adopt the HRV to assess physiological changes in the relationship between pain and cognition. This study aims to investigate the role of cognitive inhibition in the autonomic responses to pain induction. A population of 76 healthy adults (47 females and 29 males; age, mean = 23.17, sd = 10.76) completed the experimental procedure. The Stroop Task and the Go-NoGo Task were administered to assess cognitive inhibition in a randomized order; the Cold Pressure Arm Wrap was adopted to induce cold pain; HRV was recorded during rest (5 minutes before the cognitive tasks) and reactivity phases; HRV was analyzed in the frequency domain (LF-HRV, HF-HRV, and LF/HF ratio). After pain assessment, participants filled in the PANAS. The results revealed: a) a positive correlation between pain measures (thresholds and tolerance) and cognitive inhibition; b) performance in the Stroop Task, but not in the Go-NoGo Task predicted pain tolerance; c) cognitive inhibition mediated the statistic difference between LF-HRV recorded at baseline and during painful stimulation. These findings suggest that individuals with higher cognitive inhibition are more likely to manage pain successfully, and this ability is sustained by an autonomic control over the environmental stressors. The relationship between pain tolerance and the performance in the Stroop Task, but not in GoNoGo Task, is probably due to the different processes involved in the two cognitive tasks: probably, pain tolerance involves processes and neural structures underling the inhibition of a dominant and automatic response, such as reading. Further studies, including a growing number of participants and other methods of pain induction, could be conducted to assess the relationship highlighted in this work better.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
