Everyday Executive Functioning in Chronic Pain: Specific Deficits in Working Memory and Emotion Control, Predicted by Mood, Medications, and Pain Interference.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: People with chronic pain may experience impairments in high-level cognitive skills, particularly executive functions. Such impairments are not adequately measured in most clinical pain management settings yet could be a key influence on everyday functioning. We administered a well-validated, well-normed self-report measure to determine which aspects of executive functioning are compromised in the daily experience of patients with chronic pain, and whether these are associated with pain severity, medications, and mood. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty-three patients attending a multidisciplinary pain management clinic, and 66 pain-free age-matched and sex-matched controls, completed t..