True love could relieve you of pain

True love has more benefits than one, reveals a new study. Researchers have discovered that true love can help reduce feelings of pain.
The test was conducted on 17 different women who were in long-term relationships. Researchers observed that they were less affected by stinging sensations while looking at pictures of their partners. While, their levels of discomfort increased when they were staring at images of spiders, objects or strangers.
The findings could help to pinpoint how emotions act on different areas of the brain and how uncomfortable feelings can be dealt with, reported the dailymail.co.uk.
Ms Eisenberger, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles said, “On a practical level if you are someone enduring pain or going in for a painful procedure bringing a loved one with you or brining a picture of a loved one with you may reduce the pain of the experience.”
Researchers used MRIs to monitor the women’s brains while administering stinging shocks to their body. A varying range of pictures, from their partner, strangers, or solid objects, were given to them. They were then given 20-point scale to use to rate their pain after each shock.
The pain scores were significantly lower for the women when they were looking at a picture of their partner.
The researchers discovered activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex which is associated with a feeling of safety.
The longer the women had been in the relationship and the more supported they were by their partner, the greater the level of activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, or VMPFC.
The VMPFC is capable of inhibiting other pathways in the brain responsible for fear and anxiety.  This area was also able to reduce pain, the researchers found.
Researchers also discovered that the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, an area responsible for stress response, was less active when the women were looking at the photos of their other halves.
“We also found that people in longer relationships were showing greater activity in that region,” the study’s lead author Naomi Eisenberger told the Toronto Star.
She also said that people who have been in their relationship longer may view their partner as a stronger cue for safety.
“This shows how strong of an effect our loved ones can have on us. They can lead us to feel less pain even when we’re simply reminded of them or looking at a picture of them,” she added.
Ms Eisenberger said that the images of snakes and spiders could have produced the opposite effect because  “over the course of our evolutionary history things like snakes and spiders have threatened our survival”.
The study is published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

 

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