BackgroundIt is proposed that changes in reward processing in the brain are involved in the pathophysiology of pain based on experimental studies. The first aim of the present study was to investigate if reward drive and/or reward responsiveness was altered in patients with chronic pain (PCP) compared to controls matched for education, age and sex. The second aim was to investigate the relationship between reward processing and nucleus accumbens volume in PCP and controls. Nucleus accumbens is central in reward processing and its structure has been shown to be affected by chronic pain conditions in previous studies.
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