Looking at Photographs of Romantic Partners Can Reduce Pain. So can Listing Sports That Do Not Use a Ball.
Researchers at Stanford University have published a study that has the lay press all abuzz with the proclamation that love conquers all, even pain. But this is not exactly what the study found.
The study relied upon 15 college students — 7 men and 8 women — who self-reported themselves to be in head-over-heels romantic partnerships. Each student was asked to bring in photographs of his/her romantic partner. Each was also asked to supply a photo of an equally attractive acquaintance.
Investigators then caused pain to each of the study subjects while:
- Exposing them to photographs of their romantic partners
- Exposing them to photographs of the other attractive person
- Asking them to list sports that do not use a ball
Exposure to photographs of romantic partner and the sports-list distraction attenuated the intensity of pain; exposure to photographs of other attractive acquaintances had no effect on pain sensation. Functional MRI, which looks at activity in the brain, showed that the brain centers active in exposure to photographs of romantic partners and in doing a distracting sports list are not the same.
The study suggests mechanisms by which attenuate the pain inflicted by scientists. It does not prove, however, that these mechanisms are universally effective. For example, what if your romantic partner is the source of your pain? Would looking at a photograph of your romantic partner be useful? Somehow, one gets the sense that it would only accentuate the pain.
Likewise, the study provides no evidence that such mechanisms would be effective in real-world and especially chronic pain conditions. Would looking at photographs of your romantic partner help to diminish the chronic pain of prostatitis?
The study is useful in the context of ongoing research and in illustrating that pain is a complex phenomenon, with its attenuation apparently mediated by different neural circuits. As for clinical application, given the relative safety of looking at photographs of romantic partners and listing sports that do not use a ball, there seems to be little risk in trying them.
As for the media, we await the day when the headlines faithfully represent science.
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