Dec 21, 2005
Think Away the Pain
Pain can be mysterious, untreatable and debilitating, and its causes can be unknown. But if you could see the pain — or, at least, your brain’s reaction to it — you might be able to master it.
The researchers asked people in pain to try to control a pain-regulating region of the brain by watching activity in that area from inside a real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI, machine. Initial results showed subjects could reduce their pain, some quite dramatically.
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My God, that gives so much hope, doesn’t it. I love the crossroads where high tech and good old-fashioned mind control meet one another. Having known people who’ve experienced chronic pain, whose medications have some strenuous side effects in terms of emotionality and cognition, this is a breathe of fresh air.