Study examines how memory is impacted by pain experienced in everyday life ANI | Updated: Feb 07, 2021 15:32 IST
Washington [US], February 7 (ANI): Researchers during a recent study have found that reduced working memory ability and increased activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex are linked to higher pain intensity in daily life.
The findings of the study were published in the journal Neuropsychologia .
Prior research suggested that pain-related impairments in working memory depend on an individual s level of emotional distress. Yet the specific brain and psychological factors underlying the role of emotional distress in contributing to this relationship are not well understood.
However, this study suggested that healthy individuals in pain also show deficits in working memory or the cognitive process of holding and manipulating information over short periods of time.
Study may help explain how pain decreases working memory
How do the normal pains of everyday life, such as headaches and backaches, influence our ability to think? Recent studies suggest that healthy individuals in pain also show deficits in working memory or the cognitive process of holding and manipulating information over short periods of time.
Prior research suggests that pain-related impairments in working memory depend on an individual s level of emotional distress. Yet the specific brain and psychological factors underlying the role of emotional distress in contributing to this relationship are not well understood.
A new study, titled Modeling neural and self-reported factors of affective distress in the relationship between pain and working memory in healthy individuals, and published in the journal