BACKGROUND: Acceptance- and mindfulness-based interventions are effective for improving pain-related outcomes, yet their effects on psychological flexibility have not been meta-analyzed. This systematic review and meta-analysis addressed this gap by comparing these interventions with control conditions on psychological flexibility and its core dimensions in adults with chronic pain. METHODS:...
Many people use cannabis to self-medicate for pain. Little is known about the impact of pain on tolerance and spontaneous withdrawal to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinal (THC), the primary psychoactive compound in cannabis. Our previous research with the opioid morphine suggests persistent pain will increase the magnitude and duration of THC withdrawal. Male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were...
European Journal of PainMay 1, 2026Cynthia Harbeck-Weber, Sammy T Murad, Neha Ramachandran et al.
Despite growing interest in mindfulness-based interventions for adolescents with chronic pain, the data have not been systematically summarized. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analyses to estimate the effect of mindfulness-based interventions on pain intensity, catastrophizing, acceptance and interference; functioning, quality of life, and anxiety and depression in youth with chronic...
This systematic review and meta-analysis investigated the effect of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) on pain severity, quality of life, pain catastrophising, and depression for people living with Fibromyalgia (FM) at short and long term follow up. MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, ClinicalTrials.gov, WHO Trial Registry, CINAHL and PsychInfo were searched from inception to December 2025 for...
The perception and assessment of foetal pain remains a contentious topic due to challenges in evaluating and detecting non-verbal behaviours. While it is widely accepted that newborns experience pain, measured through validated behavioural scales, debate persists regarding the onset of pain perception during intrauterine development. We reviewed the available literature to prepare a position...
This study examines the effects of a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program on psychological measures and attentional patterns to pain stimuli, using eye-tracking methods, in individuals with chronic pain. Thirty-two participants with chronic pain and no prior mindfulness experience were randomly assigned to an experimental group or a waiting list group. Both groups completed...
Abstract Background Chronic pain is a major cause of suffering and disability and is often associated with psychiatric complications. Current treatments carry the risk of severe side effects and may lead to limited or no relief at all in a relevant portion of this patient population. Preliminary evidence suggests that classical psychedelics (e.g. LSD and psilocybin) may have analgesic effects...
Background: Alterations in the default mode network (DMN) connectivity across pain stages suggest a possible DMN involvement in the transition to persistent pain. Aim: This study examined whether pain-free DMN connectivity at lower alpha oscillations (8-10 Hz) accounts for a unique variation in experimental peak pain intensity beyond the contribution of factors known to influence pain...
BACKGROUND: The way people respond to pain is based on psychological mechanisms, beliefs and expectations. Mindfulness meditation (MM) has been shown to regulate pain and mental suffering through different mechanisms such as positive reappraisal, attentional and emotional regulation. Yet, subjective experience and meaning of pain in connection with MM are still largely unexplored. METHODS: The...
BACKGROUND: Mindfulness meditation can alleviate acute and chronic pain. It has been proposed that mindfulness meditation reduces pain by uncoupling sensory and affective pain dimensions. However, studies to date have reported mixed results, possibly due to a diversity of styles of and expertise in mindfulness meditation. Furthermore, the interrelations between mindfulness meditation and pain...
BACKGROUND: Cannabinoids are proposed in a wide array of medical indications. Yet, the evaluation of adverse effects in controlled clinical studies, following the evidence-based model, has partly been bypassed. On the other hand, studies on the consequences of recreational use of cannabis and experimental studies bring some insights on the potential long-term consequences of cannabinoids use....
BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate whether the perception of experimental pain was different during a mindfulness manipulation than during a distraction manipulation. Furthermore, it was examined if effects were moderated by dispositional pain catastrophizing. METHODS: Undergraduate students (n = 51) completed self-report measures of pain catastrophizing and mindfulness....
Pain and the conscious mind (or the self) are experienced in our body. Both are intimately linked to the subjective quality of conscious experience. Here, we used virtual reality technology and visuo-tactile conflicts in healthy subjects to test whether experimentally induced changes of bodily self-consciousness (self-location; self-identification) lead to changes in pain perception. We found...
BACKGROUND: Oral ketamine is used as an adjuvant in the treatment of refractory neuropathic and cancer-related pain. Drug interactions may alter the analgesic or other effects of ketamine. AIM AND METHODS: The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of cytochrome P450 3A enzyme inhibition with clarithromycin on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of oral S-ketamine in a randomized...
We recorded magnetoencephalography (MEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) following noxious laser stimulation in a Yoga Master who claims not to feel pain when meditating. As for background MEG activity, the power of alpha frequency bands peaking at around 10 Hz was much increased during meditation over occipital, parietal and temporal regions, when compared with the...