Washington, Sept 20 : A new study has found that neuroticism, the tendency to experience negative emotions, significantly affects brain processing during pain, as well as during the anticipation of pain.

Neuroticism tends to be higher in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and is a risk factor for chronic, unexplained pain in IBS.

"Patients who have high expectations of pain may have a harder time coping with the actual source of pain, as is often seen in patients with irritable bowel syndrome," said Steven J. Coen, PhD, of the Wingate Institute of Neurogastroenterology and lead author of the study.

Researchers observed higher levels of neuroticism associated with brain activity during anticipation of pain in regions of the brain responsible for emotional and cognitive pain processing. During pain, however, activity in these regions was reduced.

This behaviour may help explain the greater incidence of those with higher neuroticism attending outpatient pain clinics and being at greater risk for developing chronic pain conditions.

"Previous research has shown that there is a connection between a patient's emotions and their perceived levels of pain, especially in gastrointestinal disorders," explained Dr. Coen.

"Our study shows a patient's state of mind should be noted by their physician and taken into account when determining treatment regimens - both behavioural and pharmacologic," he added.

The study has been published in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association. (ANI)