There were no significant main effects of FH (F1,126 = 0.0004, P = 0.98), DEP (F1,126 = 0.14, P = 0.71), condition (sucrose, water; F1,126 = 0.05; P = 0.82) or interaction effects between FH and DEP (F1,126 = 0.10, P = 0.75) on pain thresholds. However, there was a significant interaction between condition and DEP on pain tolerance (F1,182 = 3.85, P = 0.05). NDEP children kept their hand in the cold-water bath longer when sucrose, compared with water, was in the mouth (Table 2, Fig. 2). On average, sweet taste was associated with a 36% increase in pain tolerance in NDEP children. Furthermore, the efficacy of sucrose as an analgesic was related to the level of sweetness most preferred: the higher the concentration of sucrose preferred by NDEP children, the longer they kept their hand in the cold-water bath when sucrose, compared with water, was in the mouth (= 0.21; P = 0.013). This is in marked contrast to PDEP children (see Fig. 2): not only was sucrose an ineffective analgesic, but they were less tolerant of the
