LESS PAIN IF YOU ARE IN CONTROL
Some
subjects use distractions to cope with pain, some others prefer knowing almost
everything about origins and nature of the pain, to tolerate it. But as common
evidence it seems that you perceive less pain when in control.
The authors of a study published in The Journal of
Neuroscience tested the neurophysiological basis of being in control during
the perception of pain (T. V.
Salomons et al. Perceived controllability modulates neural
responses to pain. J. Neurosci. 24, 7199-7203, 2004) and clearly showed less activation of the “pain-brain” areas when
subjects were in control.
BM&L-October 2004