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Abstract #0931

Morphometric Cortical Correlates of Pain Catastrophizing Behaviour in Patients with Chronic Painful Knee OA

Hamza Alshuft1, 2, Laura Condon1, Jennifer Dixon1, 2, Robert Dineen1, Dorothee P. Auer1, 2

1Radiological and Imaging Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom; 2Arthritis Research UK Pain Centre, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom


Pain is a complex subjective experience not only involving sensory component but also cognitive and emotional dimensions. People differ in their capability in coping with pain. Pain catastrophizing defined as an exaggerated negative mental set may mediate this capability as it has been consistently found to be predictive of pain outcome leading to more emotional distress and intensified pain experience. As a psychological predictor pain catastrophizing has been extensively investigated over the past years yet its mechanism is still poorly understood. Here we investigate the MRI-based morphological brain correlates of pain catastrophizing in a group of patients with painful osteoarthritis.