Acquisition and subsequent loss of pain-related avoidance behaviour and its effects on fear and pain

To date, not much research has studied the potential detrimental effect of losing control over pain on the report of pain-related fear and pain. To investigate this question, a condition in which control over pain is present and subsequently lost is needed. Here, participants in the experimental group learned that they can avoid a painful electrocutaneous stimulus, but later the availability to avoid was removed. In a yoked group, participants never had control over the painful stimulus. Verbal ratings of pain-related fear, pain-expectancy, and pain were assessed. We also included re-calibrations of the painful stimulus in order to measure the effects of avoidance behaviour on pain threshold and tolerance.status: publishe