Brain signature of emotion-linked pain is uncovered - health - 14 January 2015 - New Sc... - 0 views
www.newscientist.com/...nlinked-pain-is-uncovered.html
brain brain science Research health psychology
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Brain signature of emotion-linked pain is uncovered
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it is possible to distinguish between brain activity associated with pain from a physical cause, such as an injury, and that associated with pain linked to your state of mind.
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Hearing or vision, for example, can be traced from sensory organs to distinct brain regions, but pain is more complex, and incorporates thoughts and emotions.
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depression and anxiety to the development of pain conditions, and volunteers put in bad moods have a lower tolerance for pain.
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As the heat became painful, a range of brain structures lit up. The pattern was common to all the volunteers, so Wager's team called it the neurologic pain signature.
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a distinct set of brain structures linking the nucleus accumbens and ventromedial prefrontal cortex became active
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This could benefit those with conditions such as fibromyalgia, which is poorly understood and characterised by pain all over the body.
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"In the next five to 10 years, we'll see a huge change in the way clinicians deal with pain," says Seymour. "Rather than being based on what the patient says, we'll be building a richer picture of the connections in that person's brain to identify what type of pain they have."