Gonzales Adrian, Yao Kylie, Vogel Adam, Egorova-Brumley Natalia
Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
Pain Rep. 2025 Jun 5;10(4):e1293. doi: 10.1097/PR9.0000000000001293. eCollection 2025 Aug.
Pain experiences are subjective and can vary significantly between individuals, yet pain is universally communicated using speech. Analysis of speech itself may be clinically informative about pain. Speaking itself may also relieve pain as it does during basic vocalisations. Whether complex speech relieves pain is not known. Understanding speech when pain is being experienced and whether certain speech features are associated with general pain sensitivity holds promise for identifying pain markers.
We investigated the (1) effect of acute pain on speech characteristics, (2) effect of speech on pain intensity, and (3) association between pain-free speech characteristics and pain sensitivity.
Speech metrics were derived from 25 healthy adults who performed speech tasks that fit along a continuum of cognitive complexity, with and without acute exposure to noxious heat stimuli. Pain ratings were also recorded.
Speech was pain-sensitive: under acute pain syllabic rate and speech-to-pause ratio increased during a monologue task, while mean sound pressure level decreased during vowel production. Exploratory correlations between pain-free speech characteristics and baseline pain sensitivity were significant. Increased speech-to-pause ratio was associated with increased cold pain sensitivity, while decreased mean sound pressure level was related to higher pressure pain sensitivity and impaired conditioned pain modulation. Producing a monologue reduced pain more than saying /a:/.
Speech can serve as a marker of acute pain. It also correlates with pain sensitivity, suggesting that speech could be useful for pain assessment and management.
疼痛体验是主观的，个体之间可能存在显著差异，但疼痛通过言语进行普遍传达。对言语本身的分析在临床上可能有助于了解疼痛。说话本身也可能像在基本发声时一样减轻疼痛。复杂言语是否能减轻疼痛尚不清楚。了解疼痛时的言语以及某些言语特征是否与一般疼痛敏感性相关，有望识别疼痛标志物。
我们研究了（1）急性疼痛对言语特征的影响，（2）言语对疼痛强度的影响，以及（3）无痛言语特征与疼痛敏感性之间的关联。
从25名健康成年人中获取言语指标，他们在有或没有急性暴露于有害热刺激的情况下，执行一系列认知复杂度不同的言语任务。同时记录疼痛评分。
言语对疼痛敏感：在急性疼痛下，独白任务中音节速率和言语-停顿比增加，而元音发音时平均声压级降低。无痛言语特征与基线疼痛敏感性之间的探索性相关性显著。言语-停顿比增加与冷痛敏感性增加相关，而平均声压级降低与更高的压力疼痛敏感性和条件性疼痛调制受损有关。进行独白比发/a:/音更能减轻疼痛。
言语可作为急性疼痛的标志物。它还与疼痛敏感性相关，表明言语可能有助于疼痛评估和管理。
