Meta-analytic evidence for decreased heart rate variability in chronic pain implicating parasympathetic nervous system dysregulation

• Published in: Pain (Amsterdam) Vol. 157; no. 1; pp. 7 - 29
• Main Authors: Tracy, Lincoln M., Ioannou, Liane, Baker, Katharine S., Gibson, Stephen J., Georgiou-Karistianis, Nellie, Giummarra, Melita J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States International Association for the Study of Pain 01.01.2016
• Subjects: Chronic Pain - physiopathology; Fibromyalgia - physiopathology; Heart Rate - physiology; Humans; Parasympathetic Nervous System - physiopathology

Both sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems are involved in regulating pain states. The activity of these systems seems to become disturbed in states of chronic pain. This disruption in autonomic balance can be measured through the assessment of heart rate variability (HRV), that is, the va...