Shared sensitivity to physical pain and social evaluation

While physical pain is perceptually distinct from emotional experiences that accompany social distress (e.g., rejection or exclusion), both states involve suffering and activate overlapping neuronal circuitry.12,13 For example, in one study, volunteers who recently experienced an unwanted breakup in a romantic relationship were recruited, and their brain activity to viewing photographs of their ex-partners as they thought about being rejected (social rejection) and to nociceptive somatosensory stimulation (physical pain) was recorded.

Source: The Journal of Pain - October 31, 2019 Category: Materials Science Authors: Manlin Yao, Yi Lei, Peng Li, Qian Ye, Yang Liu, Xiaoyun Li, Weiwei Peng Source Type: research