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Project

A functional-evolutionary perspective on persistent pain: the role of the social context

Why does pain become persistent only in a subset of individuals, even when the entity of the initial injury is the same? Which elements contribute to the persistency, and can we prevent this transition? These are golden questions in the pain field. The present project proposes a novel approach to address the topic under a functional- evolutionary perspective, where persistency of pain is analyzed considering the interaction between individual and social factors. The overarching main objective of this proposal is to characterize how and through which mechanisms supportive/unsupportive social environments, and changes in the supportive/unsupportive nature of the environment influence the development of persistent pain. The proposal will investigate three specific questions: i) how the reassuring presence of partner, or their absence affect the persistency of pain and related physiological responses; ii) how ambiguity in information about the effects of painful manipulations modulate the persistency of pain and iii) how changes in the supportive or unsupportive nature of the social environment bias the development of persistent pain. Both behavioral and psychophysiological outcomes will be collected, in order to build a coherent and complex model.

Date:1 Jun 2020 →  Today
Keywords:Hyperalgesia, Attachment, Pain
Disciplines:Health psychology
Project type:PhD project