Post-traumatic stress disorder reduces pain sensitivity

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A study shows that patients with post-traumatic stress disorder are less sensitive to pain.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychological condition that occurs when someone has been exposed to a severe trauma. It's characterized by a state of chronic arousal which leads those affected to have flashbacks, severe anxiety and sleep problems. A team in Utrecht, The Netherlands, now reveals that PTSD is also linked with abnormal processing of pain signals in the brain.

They carried out a brain imaging study involving a group of 12 Dutch veterans with PTSD, comparing them with 12 veterans without PTSD. During the imaging, they were asked to rate the pain experienced from fixed and variable temperatures applied to their hands. Those with PTSD reported reduced pain sensitivity, compared to those without PTSD. The brain imaging showed altered activity patterns in areas related to mood and cognitive pain processing. The study sheds an interesting new light upon the impact PTSD has on the brain.

Source
Archives of General Psychiatry January 2006 Volume 64 pages 76-85

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