Dixon, Eric A, Benham, Grant, Sturgeon, John A et al. · Journal of behavioral medicine · 2016 · DOI
Researchers created a new questionnaire called the Sensory Hypersensitivity Scale (SHS) to measure how sensitive people are to everyday sensations like touch, sound, taste, and temperature. The tool was tested on over 1,200 people and worked well at identifying those with heightened sensory sensitivity. People with fibromyalgia scored higher on the scale than those with other types of chronic pain, suggesting the tool could help identify central sensitization—a condition where the nervous system amplifies pain signals.
Central sensitization—where the nervous system becomes hypersensitive to stimuli—is thought to contribute to ME/CFS symptoms. This study provides a validated, accessible self-report tool that could help researchers and clinicians identify and measure sensory hypersensitivity in patient populations, potentially aiding in understanding overlaps between ME/CFS, fibromyalgia, and other centrally-mediated conditions.
This study does not prove that the SHS measures central sensitization directly—the authors explicitly state additional research is needed to establish this link. The modest correlations with objective sensory testing (r ≈ −0.27 to −0.34) suggest self-reported sensitivity captures only part of what objective pain testing measures. The study also does not establish causation or define the biological mechanisms underlying sensory hypersensitivity.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
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