New research indicates that social pain and physical pain are processed in similar regions of the brain
We all can relate to the psychic turmoil associated with social pain, where rejection and heartbreak are often described as unbearable. And yet in our “sticks and stones” society, emotional pain is not viewed as legitimate as physiological pain. Neuroscientists have shed light on our perception of pain, and new research indicates that social pain and physical pain are processed in similar regions of the brain. Naomi Eisenberg, co-director of the Social Cognitive Neuroscience Lab at UCLA has found that individuals who are genetically predisposed to being more sensitive to physical pain are also more sensitive to social rejection. Eisenberg explains that physiological pain is comprised of both physical injury (registering in the brain depending on what part of the body is hurt) and emotional pain (which allows us gauge the severity and distress associated with physical pain). The affective component of pain has been linked to the dorsal anterior cingulated cortex (dACC) – the same region of the brain where social pain is processed. Similar neurological connections between physical pain and social loss have also been linked to the somatosensory cortex of the brain. In a ground-breaking study, researchers at the University of Michigan[1] recruited 40 participants who recently experienced an unwanted romantic break-up. Each participant completed two tasks: one related to their experience of rejection, and another related to the sensation of physical pain. Upon analyzing the brain imaging scans of each participant, researchers found that inducing feelings of social rejection activated regions of the brain involved in physical pain sensation that are rarely activated in other emotional experiences. According to the researchers, the experience of social rejection and social loss represents a distinct emotional experience that is uniquely associated with physical pain. This connection between social loss and physical pain speaks to our implicit need for social connectedness and the physiological toll that results from social isolation. New neuroscientific findings underscore the importance of healthy and meaningful relationships as a necessary component of our well-being – without our relationships we are literally left broken hearted.
[1] Kross, E., Berman, M.G., Mischel, W., Smith, E.E., and Wager, T.D. (2011). Social rejection shares somatosensory representations with physical pain. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Online. Retrieved from: http://www.pnas.org/content/108/15/6270.full