Many factors influence our decision-making in a complex adapting world. One group that is most susceptible to these influences is individuals with chronic pain, due to pain disrupting decision-making at neurological and psychological levels. In particular, this affects how these individuals weigh potential rewards against risks such as those presented in approach-avoidance paradigms. However, a neuropsychological factor found to moderate these effects is a cognitive factor known as cognitive flexibility. Cognitive flexibility is often disrupted in chronic pain individuals due to putting strain on the prefrontal cortex and neural networks such as the default mode and affective salience network. The study had three primary hypotheses: individuals with chronic pain will display lower cognitive flexibility; These differences in cognitive flexibility and perceptual changes result in more avoidant behavior even in low-risk situations; lastly, that these decision-making effects are mediated by cognitive flexibility as it plays a fundamental role in effective decision-making. The study tested these through an approach-avoidance paradigm to test behavior at various potential threat and reward levels. The final sample consisted of 46 individuals, 35 ‘healthy’ controls and 11 with chronic pain. Results indicated that no significant results were found across all three hypotheses; however, an effect was found within approaching behavior as threat and reward changed. This results in the premise that this pilot study needs further research to resolve inequality of sample size, distribution of age, and to look at interesting factors of higher approaching behavior in chronic pain groups, regardless of high threat and low reward.
Book of Abstracts [Unofficial – Accepted Presentation, Abstract Submission Ongoing]
The Impact of Chronic Pain on Approach-Avoidance Decision-Making: Moderating Aspects of Cognitive Flexibility