Breaking up is a real pain Heartache really does hit a nerve, science has shown. There has always been heartache and pain - Savage Garden knew it - and now researchers have found a gene that reveals breaking up is physically painful. University of California psychologists say we have a gene linking sensitivity to rejection to physical pain response. In the study, the saliva of 122 subjects was checked for a rare form of the gene controlling the body's most potent painkillers. Then they were rejected by virtual teammates during an online ball-throwing game. People with the rare form of the gene, who were shown in previous work to be more sensitive to physical pain, were also more sensitive to rejection and showed greater activity in physical and social pain-related regions of the brain when excluded. The findings back the common theory that rejection hurts. "These findings suggest that the feeling of being given the cold shoulder by a romantic interest, or not being picked for a schoolyard game of basketball, may arise from the same circuits," co-auther Baldwin Way said. Such social pain may have given early humans an evolutionary advantage. "Beause social connection is so important, feeling literally hurt by not having social connections may be an adaptive way to make sure we keep them," said study co-author Naomi Eisenberger. (Adapted from mX news on August 19, 2009, p.6) |