Psychophysiological responses of female headache sufferers and controls using a picture-viewing paradigm.

Full Abstract

Despite the advancement of the biopsychosocial model, the interrelationship between behavioral, emotional, and physiological factors in tension-type headache (TTH) remains unclear. Using a picture-viewing paradigm, the present study investigated differences between females with TTH and controls on physiological reactivity, affective valence and arousal, and oral motor habits. In addition, the concordance between EMG activity and self-reported oral habits (i.e., proprioceptive awareness) and EMG activity and self-reported affect (i.e., affective coherence) were measured using within-subject correlations per individual and then compared between groups. Data were analyzed for 27 TTH sufferers and 27 controls who completed a questionnaire packet followed by a psychophysiological assessment consisting of 3 phases (adaptation, scheduled-viewing, recovery) with EMG activity recorded continuously at 3 sites (frontalis, corrugator, zygomatic). During the scheduled-viewing phase, participants were presented with 24 pictures designed to elicit positive, neutral, and negative affect. Compared to controls, the headache group reported elevations in pain, oral habits, and stress across the 3 phases of the assessment, along with elevations in arousal while viewing the pictures. There were no significant differences between the groups in EMG activity while viewing the pictures. Analyses on concordance revealed partial evidence for poor proprioceptive awareness and affective coherence among the headache group, although the correlations were not significantly different than the control group. These findings suggest that arousal, stress perception, and oral habits may play a role in the pathophysiology of TTH and that within-subject designs should be tested further against group designs when measuring psychophysiological concordance.

Learn Faster Today Improve your study skills

Author information

Author/s: Ong, Jason C (JC); Gramling, Sandra E (SE); Vrana, Scott R (SR); Nicholson, Robert A (RA); Buenaver, Luis F (LF);

Affiliation: Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA. jcong(-atsign-)stanford.edu

Grants: F32 NS042386-01 (Agency:NINDS NIH HHS) ; F32 NS042386-02 (Agency:NINDS NIH HHS)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback (Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2006-Dec; vol 31 (issue 4) : pp 295-313

Dates: Created 2006/12/04; Completed 2007/01/26; Revised 2008/05/19;

PMID: 17094032, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article (including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.

MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adaptation, Physiological - physiology
Adult
Arousal
Behavior - physiology
Electromyography
Facial Pain - physiopathology; psychology
Female
Humans

Humans
Male
Pain Measurement
Photic Stimulation
Proprioception - physiology
Questionnaires
Tension-Type Headache - physiopathology; psychology
Verbal Behavior - physiology

These are the highest related articles currently in the database:

See 100+ related articles.