Aftermath of sexual abuse history on adult patients suffering from chronic functional pain syndromes: An fMRI pilot study
Received 1 November 2009; received in revised form 20 January 2010; accepted 20 January 2010. published online 17 March 2010.
Abstract
Objective
This preliminary study investigates the neural substrates of empathy-induced pain in multisomatoform pain patients “with vs. without” a history of sexual abuse during childhood.
Methods
Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and behavioral measurements, we compared eight abused with eight nonabused patients using an established empathy-for-pain paradigm.
Results
Higher activations in left lateral and medial superior frontal gyrus as well as a nonsignificant activation of the right supplementary motor area in abused patients were detected. The nonabused participants showed higher activation of left hippocampus. There was no significant difference in subjective pain ratings between the groups.
Conclusion
Although the number of participants still needs to be increased, our main findings mirror the clinical impression and support the notion of perturbed neuroprocessing of grievous stimuli in chronic pain patients with a history of sexual abuse.
ABSTRACT