Impact of reward on pain threshold and tolerance to experimental pain (Cold Pressor Task) in healthy subjects and patients with schizophrenia

- Reduced pain sensitivity is considered by some authors as a potential endophenotype of schizophrenia.
- Reward results in a significant increase in both pain threshold and pain tolerance in both patients and controls.
- In the unrewarded groups, pain tolerance was significantly lower in patients.
- This study suggests a link between the pain and reward pathways.