PhD Defence Justine Mac Goris

Keywords: Attention bias, chronic pain, virtual reality, somatosensory stimuli 
 

"Aligning attention bias for pain information with context changes and goal pursuit: An experimental approach"

Chronic pain affects millions of people, reducing their quality of life. One key factor in chronic pain is attention bias—the tendency to focus excessively on pain-related information. This can make pain feel worse and harder to manage. However, recent research suggests that attention to pain is not always harmful. Instead, it should be flexible, adapting to different situations. For example, if pain can be avoided, focusing on it might help, but in safe environments or when pursuing important goals, shifting attention away from pain is crucial. This ability to adjust attention—called attention bias alignment—may be more important for well-being than simply reducing attention to pain. This thesis explores how this flexibility in attention affects pain perception and whether difficulties in adjusting attention contribute to chronic pain. Understanding this could lead to better treatments that focus on improving attentional flexibility rather than just suppressing pain-related thoughts. 

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