Patients with bipolar and unipolar affective illness (N = 76) were
compared with 48 control subjects on a psychophysical pain rating procedure
using both threshold and signal detection analysis. Affectively ill
patients were more analgesic than controls, and depressed men were
significantly more analgesic than depressed women or control subjects.
Bipolar men showed a different pattern of analgesia than unipolar patients.
Pain appreciation in depressed patients may be related to endogenous
opiate-like substances; this could be assessed in narcotic antagonist
studies of pain-tolerant depressed subjects.Abstract Teaser