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Could Schizophrenia Be a Refractory Condition to Central Pain Sensitization?

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Mental Health and Pain

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Abstract

Disturbances in pain perception have been the focus of clinical and experimental investigation, leading to a better understanding of their mutual relationships. The clinical features associated with pain perception disturbances in schizophrenia are diverse and exceed the widely recognized ‘pain indifference’, as witnessed by the cenesthopathic subtype of schizophrenias, whose defining features include an array of abnormal physical sensations. Among other factors, disturbances of pain perception could participate in the worrisome physical health status and suboptimal access to care of this population. The potential psychopathological determinants of this situation are of special interest but remain elusive and will be discussed as such. The experimental investigation of pain in schizophrenia has recently been reviewed and has confirmed the existence of significant hypoalgesia, and its potential relationship with symptom dimensions and quality of insight will be discussed. The chapter will also explore how these data relate to key components of pain perception and modulation (namely the diffuse noxious inhibitory control and excitatory endogenous pain mechanisms) and of schizophrenia pathophysiology (e.g. genetic vulnerability and neurochemical hypotheses).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sherbrooke, 3001, 12e Avenue, Nord, Sherbrooke, J1H 5N4, QC, Canada

    Sylvain Grignon

  2. Clinique Nouveau Départ, Montréal, QC, Canada

    Katherine Stavro

  3. Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Centre de recherche Fernand-Seguin, University of Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada

    Stéphane Potvin

Authors
  1. Sylvain Grignon
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  2. Katherine Stavro
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  3. Stéphane Potvin
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sylvain Grignon .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre de Recherche Clinique Etienne Le Bel, Sherbrooke, Canada

    Serge Marchand

  2. EPS Barthélémy Durand, Etampes, France

    Djéa Saravane

  3. Faculté de médecine et CRCELB, Sherbrooke, Canada

    Isabelle Gaumond

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Grignon, S., Stavro, K., Potvin, S. (2014). Could Schizophrenia Be a Refractory Condition to Central Pain Sensitization?. In: Marchand, S., Saravane, D., Gaumond, I. (eds) Mental Health and Pain. Springer, Paris. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-2-8178-0414-9_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-2-8178-0414-9_9

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Paris

  • Print ISBN: 978-2-8178-0413-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-2-8178-0414-9

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