In 2007, researchers Dr. Bruce D. Dick and Dr. Saifudin Rashiq, from the University of Alberta’s Multidisciplinary Pain Centre in Edmonton, Canada, confirmed chronic pain impairs memory and concentration. Two-thirds of the participants in the research showed significant disruption of attention and memory when tested.
Computerized tests were given to the 24 participants, all of whom had continuous pain lasting for at least six months, to understand the impact of chronic pain on memory. These tests were of working memory and a neuropsychological test of attention.
The tests were presented on separate “pain” and “less pain” days to assess the impact of the pain on memory and concentration. On “less pain” days, participants received a pain-reducing procedure before the tests. On “pain days”, the procedure was not given, and tests were run when patients described their pain as being at a high level.
After analyzing the results, the researchers noticed 16 of the 24 participants - a shocking 67% - exhibited clinical impairment on their “pain” testing day. Dr Bruce D. Dick and Dr Saifudin Rashiq concluded that pain might disrupt the maintenance of the memory trace needed to hold information for processing and retain it for storage in longer-term memory areas of the brain.
Although the sample used in the study is small, people who live with chronic pain know that their condition causes a drop in memory and concentration.
I’m one of them. Ever since the pain associated with fibromyalgia started, my memory and concentration capacity suffered a decline. It’s normal for me to forget words, for example. Or names. Or even what I did a couple of hours before.
Heck, if I don’t set up reminders for my medical appointments, I forget about them most of the time.
The scenario is graver when it comes to concentration. I have a lot of difficulties concentrating on a task, may it be simple or not. Even watching TV can be challenging at times, like writing a blog post like this one.
The study is available at PubMed.
photo from Unsplash
