This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the evidence pertaining to attentional bias for painful and non-painful somatosensory stimuli in individuals with chronic pain. Eligible studies were identified via searches of Medline, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Web of Science, Scopus, and Cochrane Library databases. Search terms were words and phrases organised into three concept blocks: pain condition, cognitive process and stimuli/paradigm. The search identified 29 eligible studies (reporting 32 eligible experiments), of which quantitative meta-analysis was possible for 16 studies (19 experiments). This data collection contains the quantitative data used for meta-analysis and the analysis R scripts.The planned research will investigate the role biased interpretation of ambiguous somatosensory stimuli has in the maintenance of chronic pain in patients with CP, and whether their modification offers pain relief. Quantitative sensory testing (QST) techniques will be used to assess whether innocuous somatosensory stimuli of differing intensities (e.g., heat, pressure, vibration, electrical sensations) are perceived as unpleasant or painful in those with CP relative to pain-free controls, and also whether the thresholds at which these perceptions occur also differ. The PRL has dedicated space in the Department of Psychology and state-of the art QST equipment.

The search was conducted in seven databases: Web of Science (title); MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and CINAHL (title, subject terms, abstract); PubMed (title/abstract); Scopus (title); and Cochrane Library databases (title, abstract, keywords). The grey literature was searched using the OpenGrey database (main search field). The database search was conducted on 18th October 2019 with studies from database inception until this date eligible for inclusion. Studies had to meet the following criteria for inclusion in this review: 1) Recruited participants of any age with any type of chronic pain, defined as pain lasting three months or longer. 2) Assessed attention to somatosensory stimuli (defined as stimuli that can evoke a sensation anywhere on the body) using an attentional task. 3) Compared either chronic pain patients to healthy controls, or compared pain-affected to pain-unaffected body regions in chronic pain patients. 4) The full text was available in the English language. Quantitative data for meta-analysis were extracted from eligible studies wherever available.