Ploghaus, Narain, Beckmann, Clare, Bantick, Wise, Matthews, Rawlins, & Tracey (2001) Exacerbation of pain by anxiety is associated with activity in a hippocampal network

Ploghaus, A., Narain, C., Beckmann, C. F., Clare, S., Bantick, S., Wise, R., Matthews, P. M., Rawlins, J. N. & Tracey, I. (2001) Exacerbation of pain by anxiety is associated with activity in a hippocampal network. J Neurosci, 21(24), 9896-903.

Conclusion

"The present study showed that anxiety-induced hyperalgesia is associated with activation in the entorhinal cortex of the hippocampal formation. This is consistent with the Gray–McNaughton theory, which proposes that during anxiety, the hippocampal formation increases the valence of aversive events to prime behavioral responses adaptive to the worst possible outcome. Our observation helps to interpret anatomical, neuropharmacological, and electrophysiological evidence implicating the hippocampal formation in pain modulation. Our finding suggests that accurate preparatory information during medical and dental procedures
alleviates pain by disengaging the hippocampal formation. Searching for interventions to specifically modulate hippocampal activation offers an approach to identifying new treatments for procedural pain and some forms of chronic pain."

Who can assert control over entorhinal cortex? Orbitofrontal cortex--the area associated with metacognition in the affective domain in Dynamic Filtering theory?  Like, I know I am in chronic pain and discomfort... get ready for it, get habituated and tune it down many a blue moon ago already!