Helena Gunnarsson

In June 2018 I received my PhD, and now I am working as an Associate Professor in Psychology.

Research

In several research projects, I have investigated the influence of different pain states on pain perception and cognitive functions, such as psychomotor ability, sustained attention, abstract thinking and self-control. I have investigated how experimental pain influence cognitive functions, as well as how clinical musculoskeletal pain influence cognitive functions. In ongoing projects I am investigating how experimental and clinical pain influence stereotypical judgments, and how clinical pain affects logical reasoning.

Publications

Article in journal (Refereed)

Gunnarsson, H.E.M., Agerström, J. (2018). Clinical pain, abstraction, and self-control : being in pain makes it harder to see the forest for the trees and is associated with lower self-control. Journal of Pain Research. 11. 1105-1114.
Agerström, J., Gunnarsson, H.E.M., Stening, K. (2017). Does physical pain impair abstract thinking?. Journal of Cognitive Psychology. 29. 748-754.
Gunnarsson, H.E.M., Grahn, B., Agerström, J. (2016). Increased deep pain sensitivity in persistent musculoskeletal pain but not in other musculoskeletal pain states. Scandinavian Journal of Pain. 13. 1-5.
Gunnarsson, H.E.M., Grahn, B., Agerström, J. (2016). Impaired psychomotor ability and attention in patients with persistent pain : a cross-sectional comparative study. Journal of Pain Research. 9. 825-835.

Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)

Gunnarsson, H.E.M. (2018). The influence of different pain states on pain perception and cognitive functions. Doctoral Thesis. Växjö, Linnaeus University Press.