van der Venne, Patrice; Mürner-Lavanchy, Ines; Höper, Saskia; Koenig, Julian; Kaess, Michael (2023). Physiological response to pain in female adolescents with nonsuicidal self-injury as a function of severity. Journal of Affective Disorders, 339, pp. 64-73. Elsevier 10.1016/j.jad.2023.06.041
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BACKGROUND
Preliminary evidence indicates altered hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and autonomic nervous system (ANS) response to experimental pain in individuals with nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI). This study investigated effects of NSSI severity and severity of psychopathology on the HPA axis and ANS response to pain.
METHODS
N = 164 adolescents with NSSI and n = 45 healthy controls received heat pain stimulation. Salivary cortisol, α-amylase and blood pressure were repeatedly assessed before and after painful stimulation. Heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) were assessed continuously. NSSI severity and comorbid psychopathology were derived from diagnostic assessments. Main and interaction effects of time of measurement and NSSI severity, adjusted for severity of adverse childhood experiences, borderline personality disorder and depression, on HPA axis and ANS response to pain were examined using regression analyses.
RESULTS
Increasing NSSI severity predicted an increasing cortisol response (χ2(3) = 12.09, p = .007) to pain. After adjusting for comorbid psychopathology, greater NSSI severity predicted decreased α-amylase levels following pain (χ2(3) = 10.47, p = .015), and decreased HR (χ2(2) = 8.53, p = .014) and increased HRV(χ2(2) = 13.43, p = .001) response to pain.
LIMITATIONS
Future research should implement several NSSI severity indicators, potentially revealing complex associations with the physiological response to pain. Assessing physiological responses to pain in NSSI in a naturalistic setting presents a promising avenue for future research in NSI.
CONCLUSIONS
Findings indicate an increased pain-related HPA axis response and an ANS response characterized by reduced sympathetic and increased parasympathetic activity associated with NSSI severity. Results support claims for dimensional approaches to NSSI and its related psychopathology alongside shared, underlying neurobiological correlates.
Item Type: |
Journal Article (Original Article) |
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Division/Institute: |
04 Faculty of Medicine > University Psychiatric Services > University Hospital of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy |
UniBE Contributor: |
Mürner-Lavanchy, Ines Mirjam, Koenig, Julian, Kaess, Michael |
Subjects: |
600 Technology > 610 Medicine & health |
ISSN: |
0165-0327 |
Publisher: |
Elsevier |
Language: |
English |
Submitter: |
Pubmed Import |
Date Deposited: |
03 Jul 2023 11:27 |
Last Modified: |
12 Aug 2023 00:16 |
Publisher DOI: |
10.1016/j.jad.2023.06.041 |
PubMed ID: |
37390927 |
Uncontrolled Keywords: |
Autonomic nervous system Cortisol Heart rate variability Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis NSSI severity Stress response systems |
BORIS DOI: |
10.48350/184300 |
URI: |
https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/184300 |
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