Study On The Characteristics Of Autobiographical Memory Retrieval Of Chronic Pain Patients And Its Relevant Factors

Objects:The present study aims to explore the characteristics of retrieving autobiographical memory (AM) of chronic pain patients and its relationship with chronic pain, emotion, working memory, attention and pre-attention, in order to pushing the development of memory theory of chronic pain and improving diagnosis and treatment of chronic pain.Methods:The present study sampled 190 chronic pain patients and 187 healthy controls by convenience sampling. The Short-form McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ), the Pain Self-efficacy Questionnaire (PSEQ), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), the Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT), the Working Memory Index (WMI), the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), the Backward Masking Test (BMT) and the Continuous Performance Test (CPT) were used to assess pain, emotion, autobiographical memory, working memory and attention of the subjects. The auditory mismatch negativity (MMN) was used to assess the pre-attention of 20 chronic pain patients and 20 healthy controls. The multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA), the repeated-measures ANOVA, the pearson correlation analysis and the partial correlation analysis were used as the statistical methods of the present study.Results:(1) Compared to the control group, the chronic pain group reported less specific memories and more overgeneral memories with longer latency (P<0.05). (2) In the chronic pain group, the latency of AMT was related negatively with age of first-episode (P<0.05), and related positively with pain duration, pain frequency and time of pain per day (P<0.05); specific memory was related positively with age of first-episode, pain self-efficacy (P<0.01), and related negatively with pain duration, pain frequency, PRI score, VAS score and PPI score (P<0.05); overgeneral memory was related negatively with pain self-efficacy (P<0.01), and related positively with pain duration, PRI score, VAS score and PPI score (P<0.05). (3) The group with high depression reported less specific memories and more overgeneral memories with longer latency than the group with low depression (P<0.05). (4) The chronic pain group performed worse in WMI than the control group (P<0.05); the WMI score was related negatively with AMT latency and overgeneral memory and positively with specific memory in the chronic pain group. (5) Compared to the control group, the chronic pain group spended more time on completing the Stroop Test (P<0.05), did less correct response in the Stroop Test, completed less number of classification in WCST and gained less BMT score and more number of fault response in WCST and CPT (P<0.05); in the chronic pain group, the latency of AMT was related positively with the number of fault response and the time of completing the Stroop Test (P<0.05), and negatively with BMT score (P<0.05); overgeneral memory was related positively with the number of fault response and time of read in the Stroop Test and the number of continued fault response in CPT (P<0.05), and negatively with the number of classification in WCST and BMT score (P<0.05); specific memory was related negatively with the number of fault response and time of read in the Stroop Test (P<0.05), and positively with the number of classification in WCST and BMT score (P<0.05). (6) MMN latency in chronic pain group was longer than that in control group (P<0.001); MMN latency in chronic pain group was related positively with pain duration, time of pain per day, sensory pain and specific memory (P<0.05), and negatively with affective pain and AMT latency (P<0.05); MMN amplitude in chronic pain group was related negatively with AMT latency and specific memory (P<0.05), and positively with overgeneral memory.Conclusions:(1) The AM retrieval in chronic pain patients is overgeneral and delayed. (2) The characteristics of AM retrieval in chronic pain patients are closely related to chronic pain conditions. (3) The characteristics of AM retrieval in chronic pain patients are affected by negative emotions. (4) The characteristics of AM retrieval in chronic pain patients may be attributable to the impairment of working memory. (5) The characteristics of AM retrieval in chronic pain patients are closely related to attentional dysfunction. (6) The characteristics of AM retrieval in chronic pain patients are closely related to deficit of pre-attentional cognitive process.