Exploring the causal link between pain and delay discounting

Delay discounting is the decline in the present value of a reward with delay to its receipt. Across a variety of species, populations, and reward types, such as money and pain, value declines hyperbolically with delay. So, people are more likely to want to receive £200 now than £350 later.

Pain appears to be associated with a greater extent of delay discounting. However, previous studies have examined the relationship using only correlational methodology. The direction of causation has therefore not been determined. Pain may cause individuals to discount future pain or monetary rewards more readily, or people who are inclined to greater delay discounting might be more likely to develop chronic pain through mechanisms such as poor diet, little exercise, or increased drug use, all of which are more common in people with greater delay discounting and all of which are associated with an increased likelihood of suffering from chronic pain.