The purpose of this study is to investigate whether memory and attention work differently in people with and without chronic pain. We are also interested in which aspects of memory and attention may be affected, whether these abilities are related to specific characteristics of chronic pain, and how stable they are over time.
The study takes place online via Gorilla platform and involves questionnaires and experimental tasks completed on your computer (not compatible with smartphones or tablets) in one or two sessions, each taking up to 50 minutes. You will answer some questions about yourself, your current mood, sleep, level of fatigue, and pain. In different tasks, you will see letters and images presented on the screen, and sounds played through your headphones. You will need to detect specific letters or tell apart different images or sounds presented one after another with short time delays. After the first session, you will be invited to complete a second similar session 1 week later, although it is not obligatory to complete both.
This study is open to:
1) those who experience chronic pain (persistent or recurring pain for the past 3 months or more) and are 18-65 years old;
2) and those who do not experience chronic pain and are 40-65 years old.
Male and female participants in the UK who have normal or corrected to normal vision and hearing (e.g. with glasses, contact lenses or hearing aids) are welcome to participate. You should not take part if you have a history of neurological disorders (e.g. stroke, traumatic brain injury, neurodegenerative disease, epilepsy).
As a compensation for your time, you will receive a £7 Amazon voucher for completing the first session, or a £14 Amazon voucher for completing both sessions.