659: Sex Differences in Pain Memory and Contextual Processing: A Virtual Reality Pain Conditioning Study

Topic: Experimental (Non-clinical) Human Studies
Subtopic: Non -specific to any diagnosis, Psychology, Gender/sex differences, Pain mechanisms (e.g. descending inhibitory control, placebo, inflammation)

Background and Aims: Chronic pain affects women disproportionately, yet mechanisms underlying sex differences in pain memory remain unclear. This study investigates how pain conditioning influences pain memory, contextual perception, and implicit memory processing, with particular attention to sex-specific patterns.

Methods: Sixty healthy participants (30 women) explored an immersive three-room virtual apartment on ten occasions during a conditioning protocol. One room was associated with tonic electrical painful stimulation, while others served as controls. Pain intensity and unpleasantness were assessed using visual analog scales during conditioning and at follow-up (immediately post-conditioning, Day 1, Day 14). Environmental perception was evaluated through room valence ratings, and implicit contextual memory through a blurred object recognition task measuring reaction times.

Results: Pain intensity ratings showed significant effects of the time × sex interaction (p = 0.005). Women exhibited enhanced pain memory, with intensity ratings increasing post-conditioning and remaining elevated through Day 14 (p < 0.001), while men showed no amplification. Although unpleasantness ratings showed no such pattern, intensity-unpleasantness correlations strengthened in women post-conditioning (all p < 0.01), suggesting enhanced sensory-emotional integration.
Women demonstrated alterations in pain-associated room valence post-conditioning, at Day 1 and Day 14 (all p < 0,05), whereas men showed no contextual modifications. Women also displayed faster reaction times for pain-associated objects (p = 0.03), indicating enhanced implicit contextual memory.

Conclusions: These sex-specific differences in pain memory consolidation and contextual processing may reflect distinct neurocognitive mechanisms contributing to pain vulnerability. Understanding these mechanisms could inform sex-tailored preventive strategies and interventions for chronic pain development.

References: NA

Presenting Author: VAN EYCKEN Juliette
Submitting Author: Juliette Van Eycken

Senior Author: FROT Maud

IASP 2026 Global Year theme of Neuropathic Pain: No

• VAN EYCKEN Juliette: PhD candidate - Neuropain laboratory / CRNL, Inserm U1028; CNRS, UMR5292, Lyon 1 University
• CALDICHOURY Argitxu: PhD - Neuropain laboratory / CRNL, Inserm U1028; CNRS, UMR5292, Lyon 1 University
• PERCHET Caroline: PhD - Neuropain laboratory / CRNL, Inserm U1028; CNRS, UMR5292, Lyon 1 University
• GARCIA-LARREA Luis: MD, PhD - Neuropain laboratory / CRNL, Inserm U1028; CNRS, UMR5292, Lyon 1 University
• FROT Maud: PhD - Neuropain laboratory / CRNL, Inserm U1028; CNRS, UMR5292, Lyon 1 University