Pain is a subjective thing, brought about by our nervous system. It is mostly a product of great usefulness. Sometimes people don't want it, which is why they take medicinal 'painkillers'. In the online journal medical xpress there is a report on how mindfulness has been shown to reduce pain in the brain here.
The article explains how a study by the Wake Forest School of Medicine into previous collected data could offer new hopes of pain management. The possibility that a practice known as mindfulness could be an answer. The study's lead author, Fadel Zeidan, Ph.D., was quoted: "Mindfulness is related to being aware of the present moment without too much emotional reaction or judgment."
76 healthy people, who had never been taught mindfulness, were measured for a baseline level of 'natural mindfulness'. You can try it out yourself here (link is to a .pdf file).
The individuals were given painful heat stimulation and measured using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of brain activity, an area of the brain which has been referred to as the default mode network (DNM). This is associated to a multitude of activities ranging from thinking about the self or others to thoughts of the past or the future. It is thought that the DMN is only active at rest, although this may not to be the case (see the wiki link above for articles). The DNM has also been hypothesized to be relevant to a number of disorders including Alzheimer's disease and autism, among many. The DNM has different regions associated with it. One of these is pain sensation, as information of stimulus is received through the nervous system.
The study showed a new take on how we experience pain. Those individuals who had a higher mindfulness score in the test showed less activity in the areas of pain reaction of the brain. Those with low levels of mindfulness experienced greater levels of pain.
Dr. Zeidan was also quoted as saying, "Now we have some new ammunition to target this brain region in the development of effective pain therapies." He also hypothesized that through mindfulness training millions of people could manage chronic pain.
Sources:
Mindfulness Extended website: http://www.mindfulness-extended.nl/
Medical Express, 'Mindful people' feel less pain,Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center
Wikipedia, default mind network: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Default_mode_network
The article explains how a study by the Wake Forest School of Medicine into previous collected data could offer new hopes of pain management. The possibility that a practice known as mindfulness could be an answer. The study's lead author, Fadel Zeidan, Ph.D., was quoted: "Mindfulness is related to being aware of the present moment without too much emotional reaction or judgment."
76 healthy people, who had never been taught mindfulness, were measured for a baseline level of 'natural mindfulness'. You can try it out yourself here (link is to a .pdf file).
The individuals were given painful heat stimulation and measured using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of brain activity, an area of the brain which has been referred to as the default mode network (DNM). This is associated to a multitude of activities ranging from thinking about the self or others to thoughts of the past or the future. It is thought that the DMN is only active at rest, although this may not to be the case (see the wiki link above for articles). The DNM has also been hypothesized to be relevant to a number of disorders including Alzheimer's disease and autism, among many. The DNM has different regions associated with it. One of these is pain sensation, as information of stimulus is received through the nervous system.
The study showed a new take on how we experience pain. Those individuals who had a higher mindfulness score in the test showed less activity in the areas of pain reaction of the brain. Those with low levels of mindfulness experienced greater levels of pain.
Dr. Zeidan was also quoted as saying, "Now we have some new ammunition to target this brain region in the development of effective pain therapies." He also hypothesized that through mindfulness training millions of people could manage chronic pain.
Sources:
Mindfulness Extended website: http://www.mindfulness-extended.nl/
Medical Express, 'Mindful people' feel less pain,Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center
Wikipedia, default mind network: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Default_mode_network
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