Neurocognitive Performance and Emotional Status in Chronic Pain Patients

The following study examined the association between neurocognitive performance and emotional status in chronic pain patients. Seventy-three chronic pain patients recruited consecutively from services in a general medical hospital completed a battery of 10 neurocognitive measures and the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R; a gross measure of emotional distress). Cluster analytic procedures were used to identify a three-cluster group solution based on the SCL-90-R. Results indicate that subjects highest in emotional distress experienced more neurocognitive difficulties in intellectual functioning, immediate and delayed recall of verbal and nonverbal material, abstract thinking and problem solving, and cognitive efficiency than subjects lowest in emotional distress. The differences in neurocognitive functioning among the three cluster groups were not confounded by any differences on a number of background variables. These results suggest that level of emotional distress is associated with difficulties in a range of neurocognitive domains and have implications for the assessment and management of chronic pain patients.