Is the Conditioned Pain Modulation Paradigm Reliable? A Test-Retest Assessment Using the Nociceptive Withdrawal Reflex

J.A. BIURRUN MANRESA; R. FRITSCHE; P.H. VUILLEUMIER; C. OEHLER; C.D. MØRCH; L. ARENDT-NIELSEN; O.K. ANDERSEN; M. CURATOLO

PLOS ONE

PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE

Lugar: San Francisco; Año: 2014 vol. 9

1932-6203

The aim of this study was to determine the reliability of the conditioned pain modulation (CPM) paradigm assessed by an objective electrophysiological method, the nociceptive withdrawal reflex (NWR), and psychophysical measures, using hypothetical sample sizes for future studies as analytical goals. Thirty-four healthy volunteers participated in two identical experimental sessions, separated by 1 to 3 weeks. In each session, the cold pressor test (CPT) was used to induce CPM, and the NWR thresholds, electrical pain detection thresholds and pain intensity ratings after suprathreshold electrical stimulation were assessed before and during CPT. CPM was consistently detected by all methods, and the electrophysiological measures did not introduce additional variation to the assessment. In particular, 99% of the trials resulted in higher NWR thresholds during CPT, with an average increase of 3.4 mA (p