Symptom laterality and psychological presentation in chronic pain syndrome

This study examined whether a subgroup of chronic pain patients would evidence laterality of somatic pain complaints, and whether there would be a relationship between laterality and: (a) intensity of psychological distress and (b) type of psychological distress. MMPI profiles were obtained from 152 patients. Patients were also asked to localize their pain on the Body Pain Diagram. There was no overall difference in sidedness of complaints for this cohort. However, patients with relatively elevated MMPI profile patterns showed a strong tendency to lateralize their symptoms towards the left side of the body. In contrast, patients with a suppressed profile of the ‘conversion v’ variety evidenced laterality of pain complaints towards the right side of the body. Possible implications for a neuropsychological model of somatoform pain symptoms are discussed.