On “the lateralization of pain”

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Abstract
The hypothesis that pain, when lateralized, occurs more often on the left was tested in a sample of 264 patients. Pain occurred with equal frequency on the left and the right. No differences were observed between patients with left and right lateralized pain on the MMPI [Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory], IBQ [Illness Behavior Questionnaire], or Zung depression scales. The discrepancy between these findings and previous ones probably reflects differences in the populations studied, differences in the conventions used to define pain laterality and the fact that the multiple statistical tests on a single sample previously used lead to a large probability of obtaining spuriously significant results.