Affective and social pain modulation in children—Experimental evidence using picture viewing

Pain relief by positive affective and social-affective stimuli extends previous findings in adults, especially regarding reduced pain-related facial muscle activity. Moreover, the results shed light on the interplay between catastrophizing and social context on children's pain experience. Clinically, our results imply that just looking at pictures of their mothers (or positive scenes) might help to alleviate pain in children.