Neural responses associated with viewing pictures of a beloved during periods of acute experimental thermal pain.

Intense spells of passion are as effective at blocking pain as cocaine and other illicit drugs, a team of neuroscientists say. Tests on 15 American students who admitted to being in the passionate early stages of a relationship showed that feelings for their partner reduced intense pain by 12% and moderate pain by 45%.

In the study, researchers at Stanford University showed eight women and seven men photographs of their partners while delivering mild doses of pain to their palms with a hot probe. At the same time, the students had their brains scanned by a functional magnetic resonance imaging machine. At the end of each test, the students were asked to rate how much pain they felt.

Feelings of love, triggered by a photo of their partner, acted as a powerful painkiller. Brain scans revealed that these feelings caused more activity in parts of the brain that are also triggered by morphine and cocaine. Looking at an image of an attractive friend rather than their partner had only a mild analgesic effect.

Read more at The Guardian…

• Download the study from Plosone.org: Viewing Pictures of a Romantic Partner Reduces Experimental Pain: Involvement of Neural Reward Systems [pdf]

Living Is In Loving…

The sun rises brisk and bright,
Gilding the world with his light;
But,wait-
Its still a gloomy night
For those with not a hope in sight…

Eyes blinded by unshed tears,
Lips frozen by unspoken fears,
Hearts broken by unfulfilled dreams,
Life splitting apart at the seams…

Beaten, battered and broken,
By life betrayed and forsaken,
They know not what to do,
They know not whom to turn to…

When we strut along so tall and straight,
Do we ever think of those felled by fate?
As we celebrate and sing a merry song,
Do we see those who can’t even hum along?

Is life about living in an ivory mansion?
And being the epicentre of fickle attraction?
Or is it about riding in fancy cars?
And being decorated with spurious stars?

How long does it last:the music of empty applause?
Its time to leave the rat-race and for a moment pause…

But wait-
I do see a silver lining,
Behind those dark clouds gently shining,
Hearts that beat with love and care,
Hands that reach out to comfort and share,
A warm smile, a tender touch,
To those bereft, it means so much.

YOU who look at another as your own,
So, they no longer feel abandoned and alone;
YOU who with love ignite a spark
In lives gone cold and empty and stark;
YOU who so dauntlessly strive
To lessen the pain and help survive
Those floundering to reach the shore
Or those waiting at death’s door…

On this Valentine’s Day,
I do sincerely pray
That all the tears YOU’ve wiped away
Will become guardian angels to protect YOU
And, help YOU in your mission, all your life through!