Pain, Emotion and Cognition ― A Complex Nexus

This book focuses on the reciprocal interactions between pain, emotion and cognition. International experts report on their findings, clinical experience and the most recent literature on the complex relations between these three domains. Clinical, psychological, behavioral and neuroimaging approaches converge towards aiding patients suffering from pain, cognitive impairment or emotional distress.

Beyond the pathophysiological aspects of pain, difficulties encountered with patients are analyzed and strategies are proposed to optimize treatment, doctor-patient relationships, and patient well-being.

This work will appeal to a broad readership, from clinical medical practitioners to psychologists, nurses and pain specialists.

Prof. Gisele Pickering (MD, PhD, DPharm) teaches clinical pharmacology at the Faculty of Medicine and is Consultant at the University Hospital of Clermont-Ferrand, France. She is a permanent member of the Inserm Neurodol1107 and CICI501 research groups and focuses on pain management in older persons, the impact of pain on cognitive processes, and the mechanism of action of analgesics. She belongs to the international Special Interest Group of Pain in older persons (IASP), the EFIC and the French Pain Society (SFETD). She is also a member of the Doloplus Committee, the MobiqualR French project on pain education in nursing homes, and the European COST program on pain in cognitively impaired persons. She belongs to national and international pain, pharmacology and geriatrics societies. She is currently researching the cognitivo-affective impact of neuropathic pain. Prof. Stephen J Gibson, BSc.(Hons), PhD, MAPsS is the former President of the Australian Pain Society and is the chair of the International Association for the Study of Pain special interest group for pain in older persons. He has been involved in pain research for over 20 years and is currently the Deputy Director of the National Aging Research Institute (NARI) and Director of Research at the Caulfield Pain Management and Research Centre, Australia. Prof. Gibson is a registered psychologist and holds the position of professor at the Department of Medicine, University of Melbourne. He was awarded the 2006 Pfizer international visiting professorship in pain medicine and remains active in clinical practice via his involvement with multidisciplinary pain management centers. He is part of editorial board of several leading scientific journals. His current research interests include studies on pain assessment in persons with dementia, age differences in pain and its impacts, fMRI responses to pain, as well as the implementation of pain management guidelines in the residential aged-care sector.