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Consider a situation
in which an investigator wants to explore the extent to which
experimental pain approximates the pain reported by persistent
pain patients who exhibit various types of pain involvement. The
sensory and affective correlates of pain are assessed by means
of the widely used and validated McGill Pain Questionnaire (Melzack,
1975). As presented above, a three-level validation process is
adopted that consists of the following assessment steps:
| Level
1: | Assessment
of the sensory and affective pain information contents of
patients reporting persistent pain (>1 yr), |
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- Restricted to both sides of the face ("persistent
- bilateral").
Present on both sides of the face in combination with
reports of pain at body sites other than the face
("persistent - widespread")
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| Level
2: | Assessment
of the sensory and affective pain information contents of
volunteer subjects exposed to experimental pain stimuli. |
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- Pain reported following the unilateral injection of
hypertonic saline into the jaw muscle with pain lasting
for no longer than 360 seconds ("initial pain - unilateral").
- Pain reported following the unilateral injection-infusion
of hypertonic saline into the jaw muscle with pain lasting
for 20 minutes ("tonic pain - unilateral)").
Pain reported following the bilateral injection-infusion
of hypertonic saline into the jaw muscles with pain lasting
for 20 minutes ("tonic pain - bilateral)").
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| Figure
15.1: Subject in Bilateral Jaw Muscle Pain |
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| Subject
in tonic, bilateral jaw muscle pain that is induced
by the injection-infusion of an algesic substance
into muscle. |
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