Chronic-pain (CP) is an intractable, widespread problem, a complex interplay of
psychophysiological factors with distinctive characteristics compared to acute-pain. Early
life stress (ELS), detrimental experiences or inadequate nurturing in childhood, has been
linked to disequilibrium in immunoendocrine and autonomic function and implicated in
adult disease states including the diathesis for CP, potentially explaining disparate
outcomes for equivalent physical injuries. This project aimed to improve ELS
measurement by identifying bio-markers for an ELS bio-index.
A critical review compared CP models and reported pathophysiology, with physiological
alterations from ELS. A pilot study employing childhood-trauma and childhoodattachment
measures in a continuous fashion was designed, that would collect repeated
plasma (immunoendocrine), continuous autonomic (ECG, BP and GSR), psychological
(mood, personality) and acute pain data, from a healthy non-clinical cohort exposed to
twin (physical, psychological) stressors. The design enabled the evaluation of the
association between ELS and the psychophysiological recordings.
