Associations between the perception of dyspnea, pain, and negative affect

The perception of dyspnea shares many characteristics with the perception of pain, and both sensations might be linked to affective states. Therefore, the present study investigated the associations between perceived dyspnea, pain, and negative affect during resistive load breathing, the cold-pressor test, and affective picture viewing in healthy volunteers. Physiological and psychological measures confirmed successful experimental manipulation. There was a positive correlation between perceived dyspnea and pain in the unpleasantness dimension, but not in the intensity dimension, and this was further related to negative affect. These associations might be explained by similarities in the cortical processing of dyspnea, pain, and negative affect. The present findings extend the knowledge on similarities between dyspnea and pain and provide support for theories focusing on the perception of physiologic sensations in the development of affective states.