The goal of a new study published in Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics was to determine the relationship between conditioned pain modulation and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). This was a systemic review and meta-analysis wherein MEDLINE and Web of Science databases were searched up to 10th of May 2018. Studies examining conditioned pain modulation in adults with IBS and healthy subjects were selected. Overall, 12 studies were included. The results revealed that conditioned pain modulation in IBS patients was significantly reduced relative to healthy subjects. Thus, it was concluded that conditioned pain modulation is significantly diminished in patients with IBS when compared to healthy controls. Hence, abnormal descending pathways may play an important role in the pathophysiology of IBS which could represent an investigation and a therapeutic target in IBS.