Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26098439›Full record

ArticlePain2015

Deficits in pain perception in borderline personality disorder: results from the thermal grill illusion.

Robin Bekrater-Bodmann, Boo Young Chung, Ingmarie Richter, Manon Wicking, Jens Foell, Falk Mancke, Christian Schmahl, Herta Flor

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Pain, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
24citing papers in PubMed
2.9field-weighted citation impact, top 9% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

24 citing papers in PubMed, 59 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Observational
  2. Article
  3. RDoC Mechanisms Underlying Bodily Symptoms in Psychiatry: A Scoping Review.Psychology research and behavior management · 2026
    Review
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Thermal illusions for thermal displays: a review.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2023
    Review
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Review
  18. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 5 institutions in 4 countries.

Robin Bekrater-BodmannDepartment of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA Department of General Psychiatry, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
Boo Young Chung
Ingmarie Richter
Manon Wicking
Jens Foell
Falk Mancke
Christian Schmahl
Herta Flor
Apple (Israel) · ILChristie's · GBUniversity Hospital Heidelberg · DECentral Institute of Mental Health · DEFlorida State University · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

It is well documented that borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by reduced pain sensitivity, which might be related to nonsuicidal self-injury and dissociative experiences in patients with BPD. However, it remains an open question whether this insensitivity relies at least partly on altered sensory integration or on an altered evaluation of pain or a combination of both. In this study, we used the thermal grill illusion (TGI), describing a painful sensation induced by the application of alternating cold and warm nonnoxious stimuli, in patients with either current or remitted BPD as well as matched healthy controls. Two additional conditions, applying warm or cold temperatures only, served as control. We further assessed thermal perception, discrimination, and pain thresholds. We found significantly reduced heat and cold pain thresholds for the current BPD group, as well as reduced cold pain thresholds for the remitted BPD group, as compared with the HC group. Current BPD patients perceived a less-intense TGI in terms of induced pain and unpleasantness, while their general ability to perceive this kind of illusion seemed to be unaffected. Thermal grill illusion magnitude was negatively correlated with dissociation and traumatization only in the current BPD patients. These results indicate that higher-order pain perception is altered in current BPD, which seems to normalize after remission. We discuss these findings against the background of neurophysiological evidence for the TGI in general and reduced pain sensitivity in BPD and suggest a relationship to alterations in N-methyl-D-aspartate neurotransmission.

Indexed as

AdultArousalBorderline Personality DisorderDiscrimination, PsychologicalEmotionsFemaleHumansIllusionsMalePainPain MeasurementPain PerceptionPain ThresholdPsychometricsStatistics as TopicSurveys and Questionnaires

Identifiers

PMID26098439
PMCPMC4770381
OpenAlexW2413199353

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.