Helena Gunnarsson
Senior lecturer
Department of Psychology
Faculty of Health and Life Sciences
+46470767202
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.