Memory for pain and affect in chronic pain patients

Abstract

Forty chronic pain patients recorded their levels of sensory and affective pain and anxiety and depression at the beginning of a 6-week pain management program. At the completion of the program, they again recorded their levels and also rated their memory for each dimension at the beginning of the program. Results indicated that patients reported only marginal improvement after the program. Patients who reported increased pain or depression over the course of the study overestimated their memory for their initial pain or depression. Results are discussed in terms of the influence of subjective changes on pain memory distortion and the need to investigate the interaction between patients' mood and autobiographical memory.