Effect of Catastrophic Thinking on the Analgesic Effect of Electroacupuncture.

Introduction: Patients with chronic pain and high-level catastrophic thoughts often do not respond to acupuncture. This may be related to hypofunctioning of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the descending pain inhibitory system. Therefore, we examined the relationship between the level of catastrophic thinking and the analgesic effect of electroacupuncture using the pain catastrophizing scale (PCS).