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Pain Perception in Mental Health: An Overview

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Mental Health and Pain

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Abstract

Chronic pain and the apparent insensitivity (or indifference) to acute pain constitute two very different, yet often observed clinical phenomena in psychiatry—depending of course on the type of pathology being considered. The presence of such dichotomous response profiles demand that we pay close attention to the processing of nociceptive signals and to the presence of a possible change in the expression of subjective pain ratings among psychiatric patients. A better understanding of how psychiatric patients actually process pain holds the promise of better understanding psychiatric problems in their own right, and, of better understanding the neurobiological roots of psychiatric ailments. The current chapter provides an overview of issues concerning pain perception and mental illness. It is divided as a function of the clinical disorders most frequently associated with a change in perceived pain. Our review is based on the careful consideration of the most recent, and sometimes older but seminal, peer-reviewed scientific literature. Our classification of mental disorders is based on the multiaxial taxonomy of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders–4th edition, text revision (DSM IV-TR) [2]. We begin our overview of pain and mental health by focusing on severe, or principal, psychopathological conditions (i.e., clinical disorders: Axis I of the DSM IV-TR). In this manner, schizophrenia, autism, anxiety disorders, mood disorders, and somatoform disorders will all be discussed. Our chapter then proceeds to review the impact of personality on the development and/or maintenance of painful conditions. Here, the emphasis is placed on personality disorders (Axis II of the DSM IV-TR), but we will also consider the influence of personality or character traits (N.B., personality traits are not maladaptive, as is the case for personality disorders, but rather define enduring patterns of behavior and feelings that pervade most aspects of day to day life among healthy adults. Personality traits, taken together, define one’s personality). Finally, it is worth noting that this chapter provides a general appraisal of issues and findings that concern pain and mental illness. It offers an introduction to this rapidly evolving field and prepares the reader for the more detailed chapters that follow.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Sherbrooke, 3001, 12e Avenue Nord, Sherbrooke, QC, J1H 5N4, Canada

    Philippe Goffaux & Mylène Lévesque

  2. Department of Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada

    Guillaume Léonard

Authors
  1. Philippe Goffaux
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  2. Guillaume Léonard
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  3. Mylène Lévesque
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Philippe Goffaux .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre de Recherche Clinique Etienne Le Bel, Sherbrooke, Canada

    Serge Marchand

  2. EPS Barthélémy Durand, Etampes, France

    Djéa Saravane

  3. Faculté de médecine et CRCELB, Sherbrooke, Canada

    Isabelle Gaumond

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Goffaux, P., Léonard, G., Lévesque, M. (2014). Pain Perception in Mental Health: An Overview. In: Marchand, S., Saravane, D., Gaumond, I. (eds) Mental Health and Pain. Springer, Paris. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-2-8178-0414-9_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-2-8178-0414-9_4

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Paris

  • Print ISBN: 978-2-8178-0413-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-2-8178-0414-9

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