Thresholds of pain responses to electric stimuli in patients with endogenous depressions
Mel'nikova, T.S.
Patologicheskaia Fiziologiia i Eksperimental'naia Terapiia 1993(4): 19-21
1993
ISSN/ISBN: 0031-2991 PMID: 8183608 Document Number: 413739
The thresholds of pain and non-pain responses to single electric pulses whose duration was 0.1, 1, 10, 100, and 1000 msec were comparatively analysed in healthy individuals and patients suffering from endogenous affective disorders with bi- and monopolar courses during the development of a depressive phase and after its arrest. An analysis of the mean and modal values of non-pain response thresholds revealed no significant differences in patients and healthy individuals during marked depressive disorders and only after antidepressive therapy there was a tendency to increase non-pain response thresholds. During the development of depression, the thresholds of pain responses to short test signals (0.1 and 1 msec) were significantly lower in patients than in healthy subjects. After cessation of the depressive sympathology there was an increase in pain response thresholds and their approach to those in the healthy examinees, but in the intermission there was a profound rise in pain response thresholds in patients with a bipolar course.