Thinking of something else is a time-honored method for coping with pain. Indeed, psychologists have demonstrated repeatedly that what you think about can modulate the pain you experience. But what’s less clear is how exactly that effect plays out in the body. In a study published today in Current Biology, neuroscientists have found that distraction does more than merely divert your mind; it actually sends signals that bar pain from reaching the central nervous system.
The finding suggests the concentrating brain doesn’t just divert attention from the agony, it also triggers a release of opioid-based compounds.
Sprenger and his colleagues—whose previous work examined the placebo effect—another brain–body mystery—believes distraction is just one of many cognitive cases in which the brain modulates pain. He adds that their research is a first step. The study, however, does provide a candidate mechanism for the brain’s inhibition of the pain response, a mechanism that can be measured and further studied, eventually leading to clinical applications such as therapies. Meanwhile, the next time you have a toothache, rather than pop some acetaminophen, consider a brainteaser.
"(via myserendipities)
life
so, for the past 4 or so months i’ve been poor.
like dirt poor.
i’ve been living in the middle of the ghetto in simpsonville,
no phone, no internet, no car.
so literally i have been trapped at my house for months.
as far as i can tell though, i’m not any more insane than i already was.
so yeah, its boring, but that’s where i’ve been, a prisoner in a home that’s not even mine.
Look, life is just blah blah blah. You hope for blah, and sometimes you find it, but mostly it’s blah and waiting for blah and hoping you were right about the blahs you made.. and then just when you think you’ve got the whole blahed damn thing figured out and you’re surrounded by the ones you blah.. death shows up.. and blah blah blah
(Source: phredology)
yo you know what, i may have fucked up a bit along the way, and it may have been a stressful experience, but i’m fucking done with undergrad. I was the first person in my family to graduate from HIGH SCHOOL. and i just finished COLLEGE. thats a big fucking deal.
(Source: elle-street)
I FOUND A JOB I WANT MORE THAN ANYTHING EVER.
It pays really well, its fucking easy as hell, and its an awesome opportunity.
if you guys will help me out, please fan XS COLUMBIA on facebook, or tweet them and tell them @NUCLEARnicole sent you! Especially if you’re from south carolina, there’s a chance for free VIP passes here!
I might be running their fucking social networking!
FUCK YES.
