Examining the Role and Neurophysiological Mechanisms of Social Support in Pain Experience CheXianwei 2019 Social support plays a role in pain experience, however, this effect is context-dependent. The findings presented here suggest that social support generally has a protective effect on pain, particularly when it is clearly expressed by a significant other. In addition, the analgesic influence of social support may be associated with the buffering of neurophysiological stress systems to pain, impacting on the integration and gating of pain signals. It is hoped that this body of work will contribute to the understanding of the effects and potential mechanisms of social support in pain.