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Study sheds light on how pain is perceived
By Staff Writer
When a doctor has to extract blood with a needle, people are often told to look away and it will hurt less. This may no longer be the case based on new research regarding how pain is perceived.
The research, which was conducted by scientists from the University College London and the University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy, appears in the journal Psychological Science. Based on their findings, the researchers believe that how the brain perceives the body has an impact on the level of pain the body experiences.
To reach this conclusion the scientists subjected the left hands of 18 participants to a heat probe. The probe temperature was steadily increased and subjects could stop the heat by pressing a foot pedal when they began to feel pain.
Participants who looked at their hand as the heat increased were able to reduce their pain levels, according to the research. Viewing the process led to a pain threshold that was about 3 degrees Celsius higher than when participants could not see their hand.
Based on these results, the researchers feel that aside from cognitive therapy, thinking about the body rather than the pain stimulus may have an impact on the ways in which pain is perceived. In addition to its therapeutic implications, this new research may have an effect on chronic pain treatment.
