Klinische Neurophysiologie 2004; 35 - 9
DOI: 10.1055/s-2004-831921

Pain Perception in Depression Depends on the Site of Stimulation

KJ Bär 1, S Brehm 2, G Wagner 3, T Jochum 4, H Sauer 5
  • 1Jena
  • 2Jena
  • 3Jena
  • 4Jena
  • 5Jena

Decreased sensitivity of depressed patients to experimentally induced pain in contrast to prevalent clinical pain complaints characterizes a paradoxical circumstance. The physiological basis of this phenomenon is elusive. Therefore we applied a testing battery to both arms of subjects, including assessment of heat pain (threshold, tolerance), electrical pain and ischemic muscle pain. We investigated 30 patients suffering from a major depressive disorder and 15 patients with an acute stress disorder and matched controls to both groups. Results of pain testing were comparable in both disorders. While confirming hypalgesia to heat and electrical pain in major depression, we found hyperalgesia to ischemic muscle pain. This suggests that stimuli are processed differentially depending on the site of induction. Furthermore, we again found evidence for a lateralization of pain perception in depression. Further investigations are needed to explain this interesting discrepancy in order to treat pain complaints in depressed patients appropriately.