Even pain-associated words hurt

Washington, Mar 31 (ANI): It is not only the painful memories and associations that set our pain memory on the alert, pain-associated words too pinch in the brain, researchers have shown.

"Even verbal stimuli lead to reactions in certain areas of the brain", claims Dr. Thomas Weiss from the Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena. As soon as we hear words like "tormenting", "gruelling" or "plaguing", exactly those areas in the brain are being activated which process the corresponding pain.

In the new study, the scientist and his team from the Dept. of Biological and Clinical Psychology have examined how pain-associated words are processed in the brain.

The psychologists from Jena University were able to examine this phenomenon using functional magnetic resonance tomography (fMRT).

In their study they investigated how healthy subjects process words associated with experiencing pain. In order to prevent reactions based on a plain negative affect the subjects were also confronted with negatively connotated words like "terrifying", "horrible" or "disgusting" besides the proper pain words.

"Subject performed two tasks", explains Maria Richter, doctoral candidate in Weiss's team.

"In a first task, subjects were supposed to imagine situations which correspond to the words", the Jena psychologist says. In a second task, subjects were also reading the words but they were distracted by a brain-teaser.

"In both cases we could observe a clear activation of the pain matrix in the brain by pain-associated words", Maria Richter states. Other negatively connotated words, however, do not activate those regions. Neither for neutrally nor for positively connotated words comparable activity patterns could be examined.

"These findings show that words alone are capable of activating our pain matrix", underlines Prof. Weiss.

To save painful experiences is of biological advantage since it allows us to avoid painful situations in the future, which might be dangerous for our lives. "However, our results suggest as well that verbal stimuli have a more important meaning than we have thought so far."

For the Jena psychologist the question remains open which role the verbal confrontation with pain plays for chronic pain patients. "They tend to speak a lot about their experiencing of pain to their physician or physiotherapist", Maria Richter says.

It is possible that those conversations intensify the activity of the pain matrix in the brain and therefore intensify the pain experience. This is what the Jena psychologists want to clarify in another study. (ANI)