An interesting thought on Pain Relief

"Love is the drug....." --I can't remember the next part of that song.

New research using MRI scanners indicates that love (or in this case looking at a picture of one you love) can reduce the amount of pain a person feels.

Researchers put study volunteers into an MRI and induced pain (a hot probe to the palm) -- while the participant was in pain, they were shown a picture of an acquaintance or a picture of their beloved or given a distracting cognitive task (naming sports that don't use balls).

Researchers found that looking at a picture of a beloved reduced the participants moderate pain by 40 percent and reduced severe pain 10-15 percent.  The distracting task reduced pain by similar level but used mostly cogitative pathways of the brain where as the picture of the loved one lit up the pleasure centers of the brain indicating dopamine release (similar to the pain relieving effects of a runner's high).

Cool, huh?  For more information on this study, click here!