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Unlabelled: A classical conditioning framework is often used for clinical reasoning about pain that persists after tissue healing. However, experimental studies demonstrating classically conditioned pain in humans are lacking. The current study tested whether non-nociceptive somatosensory stimuli can come to modulate pain thresholds after being paired with painful nociceptive stimuli in healthy humans. We used a differential simultaneous conditioning paradigm in which one nonpainful vibrotactile conditioned stimulus (CS(+)) was simultaneously paired with an unconditioned painful laser stimulus, and another vibrotactile stimulus (CS(-)) was paired with a nonpainful laser stimulus. After acquisition, at-pain-threshold laser stimuli were delivered simultaneously with a CS(+) or CS(-) vibrotactile stimulus. The primary outcome was the percentage of at-threshold laser stimuli that were reported as painful. The results were as expected: after conditioning, at-threshold laser trials paired with the CS(+) were reported as painful more often, as more intense, and as more unpleasant than those paired with the CS(-). This study provides new evidence that pain thresholds can be modulated via classical conditioning, even when the stimulus used to test the threshold cannot be anticipated. As such, it lays a critical foundation for further investigations of classical conditioning as a possible driver of persistent pain.Perspective: This study provides new evidence that human pain thresholds can be influenced by non-nociceptive somatosensory stimuli, via a classical conditioning effect. As such, it lays a critical foundation for further investigations of classical conditioning as a possible driver of persistent pain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Chronic childhood eczema has significant morbidity characterised by physical discomfort, emotional distress, reduced child and family quality-of-life and, of particular note, disturbed sleep characterised by frequent and prolonged arousals. Sleep disturbance affects up to 60% of children with eczema, increasing to 83% during exacerbation. Even when in clinical remission, children with eczema demonstrate more sleep disturbance than healthy children. Notably, disturbed sleep in otherwise healthy children is associated with behavioural and neurocognitive deficits. Preliminary evidence suggests that disturbed sleep in children with eczema is also associated with behavioural deficits while the impact on neuropsychological functioning remains unexplored. In conclusion, a disease which affects up to 20% of children in some countries and may produce long-term behavioural and neurocognitive deficits merits further evaluation using standardised tests of sleep, behaviour and neurocognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Prader Willi Syndrome (PWS) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by a range of physical, psychological and physiological abnormalities. PWS patients may also demonstrate a range of abnormalities of sleep architecture and of breathing during sleep, and excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS). In the general population EDS is associated with Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS). In PWS, by contrast, OSAS is unlikely to fully explain EDS and other factors, including hypothalamic dysfunction are likely to contribute. The present review examines OSAS and hypothalamic dysfunction and other contributing factors to EDS in PWS. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract In experiments on pain, participants are frequently exposed to nonpainful and painful stimuli; however, the conventional pain-rating scales lack a nonpainful range and a clear point of transition from nonpainful to painful events. The Sensation and Pain Rating Scale (SPARS) assesses the full stimulus intensity range, extending from no sensation (rating: –50) to worst pain imaginable (rating: +50), and it explicitly identifies pain threshold (rating: 0). Here, we tested the SPARS in 2 experiments by using laser heat stimuli to establish its stimulus–response characteristics (Experiment 1, N = 19, 13 stimulus intensities applied 26 times each across a 1–4 J range), and compared it to 0 to 100 scales that assess nonpainful (0: no sensation, 100: pain) and painful (0: no pain, 100: worst pain imaginable) events (Experiment 2, N = 7, 9 stimulus intensities applied 36 times each across a 1.5–4.5 J range). Despite high inter- and intraindividual variations, we found a reasonably consistent curvilinear stimulus–response relationship (the curve flattens around pain threshold), with stable response characteristics across the range of the scale. The SPARS ratings transformed to a 0 to 100 range tended to be lower than the 0 to 100 pain rating scale in the noxious stimulus intensity range and greater than the 0 to 100 nonpainful sensation scale in the non-noxious stimulus range, likely reflecting differences in scale dimensionality. The SPARS overcomes limitations in scale range inherent to conventional pain rating scales. As such, it is well suited to experimental studies that must quantify a wider range of perceptual intensity or distinguish between painful and nonpainful events. Perspective This article presents the stimulus–response characteristics of a new scale designed to allow participants to rate a range of nonpainful and painful stimuli. The scale could be useful for research that involves exposing participants to a range of stimulation intensities or requires a clear distinction between nonpainful and painful events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In experiments on pain, participants are frequently exposed to nonpainful and painful stimuli; however, the conventional pain-rating scales lack a nonpainful range and a clear point of transition from nonpainful to painful events. The Sensation and Pain Rating Scale (SPARS) assesses the full stimulus intensity range, extending from no sensation (rating: -50) to worst pain imaginable (rating: +50), and it explicitly identifies pain threshold (rating: 0). Here, we tested the SPARS in 2 experiments by using laser heat stimuli to establish its stimulus-response characteristics (Experiment 1, N = 19, 13 stimulus intensities applied 26 times each across a 1-4 J range), and compared it to 0 to 100 scales that assess nonpainful (0: no sensation, 100: pain) and painful (0: no pain, 100: worst pain imaginable) events (Experiment 2, N = 7, 9 stimulus intensities applied 36 times each across a 1.5-4.5 J range). Despite high inter- and intraindividual variations, we found a reasonably consistent curvilinear stimulus-response relationship (the curve flattens around pain threshold), with stable response characteristics across the range of the scale. The SPARS ratings transformed to a 0 to 100 range tended to be lower than the 0 to 100 pain rating scale in the noxious stimulus intensity range and greater than the 0 to 100 nonpainful sensation scale in the non-noxious stimulus range, likely reflecting differences in scale dimensionality. The SPARS overcomes limitations in scale range inherent to conventional pain rating scales. As such, it is well suited to experimental studies that must quantify a wider range of perceptual intensity or distinguish between painful and nonpainful events. PERSPECTIVE: This article presents the stimulus-response characteristics of a new scale designed to allow participants to rate a range of nonpainful and painful stimuli. The scale could be useful for research that involves exposing participants to a range of stimulation intensities or requires a clear distinction between nonpainful and painful events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors discuss the implication of sleep habit in wellbeing of indigenous children in Australia. The authors say that physiological sleep disturbances is a significant factor in high incidence of health and academic problems among young people in the country. They state that poor sleep due to asthma also contributes to low health and academic performance of children. They add that poor sleep is a fundamental cause of diseases that affects physical and psychosocial development of a child.