An examination of pain perception and cerebral event-related potentials following carbon dioxide laser stimulation in patients with Alzheimer's disease and age-matched control volunteers

Abstract

Background: Pain perception is known to depend on integrated cognitive processing. Alzheimer's disease affects 5% to 10% of older adults, but the impact of this disease on pain sensitivity and report has yet to be fully investigated. Aim of investigation: The present study examined pain threshold, the reliability of pain report and the central nervous system processing of noxious input, as indexed by cerebral event-related potentials (CERP). Methods: Carbon dioxide laser detection and heat pain thresholds were determined on the hand dorsum of 15 healthy older adults (Mini-Mental State Examination [MMSE] score 29.9±0.3) and 15 persons with cognitive impairment (MMSE score 12.7±6.1). Using an ..