Measurement of multiple physiological responses and their multivariate analyses for the quantitative evaluation of pain

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The goal of this study is to develop an objective pain monitor, which can be used during treatments in orthopaedics, etc. As the first step, basic experiments were made on normal subjects in order to study generally the relations between the pain and various physiological reponses of the subject. Three special equipments were made for trial, which could give normal subjects pains due to whip on fore arm, hit on arm joint, and electrical stimulation on forearm. The physiological responses, including ECG, puls rate, EEG, respiration, GSR, EMG, and body temperature, were simultaneously measured and recorded during the application of pain.The results up to now are the followings : (1) No fundamental difference can be seen among the methods of giving pain. (2) No change can be observed on the ECG wave forms. (3) The responses to the pain stimulation are revealed on EMG from certain limited muscles. (4) GSR shows the biggest responses. However, they also depend on individuals besides their attentions or mental conditions. (5) The influence on the cardiac pulse rate also depends on individuals. However, it sometimes reflects the pain better than GSR.(6) EEG shows a tendency to augment alpha wave after the painstimulation. (7) Quick response on body temperature by the pain stimulation can not be deteced.Multivariate analyses of these physiological responses are making the mutual relations clear. Inconclusion, because of the individual difference and very complicated circumstance dependency, the degree of the pain can not be evaluated by a single physiological response, but by multivariate analyses of several physiological responses.