From: New York Magazine
For Heartache, Take 2 Aspirin and Call Me in the Morning
New York Magazine:
Heartache. A broken heart. A hurtful breakup. Is the language we use to describe the pain of romantic rejection just a metaphor, or could it capture a biological reality? That’s a question scientists are beginning to explore.
In a 2011 experiment, people who had recently experienced an unwanted breakup viewed a photograph of their ex-partner and thought about their rejection. As they did this, their brains were being scanned by fMRI. In another condition, the same individuals experienced intense physical pain from thermal stimulation to their forearm. During their physical pain, two brain areas (the secondary somatosensory cortex and the dorsal posterior insula) became activated; the same brain areas were activated when they thought about being rejected and looked at the image of the person who had broken their heart. Emotional pain really does hurt in a physical way.
Read the whole story: New York Magazine
More of our Members in the Media >
APS regularly opens certain online articles for discussion on our website. Effective February 2021, you must be a logged-in APS member to post comments. By posting a comment, you agree to our Community Guidelines and the display of your profile information, including your name and affiliation. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations present in article comments are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of APS or the article’s author. For more information, please see our Community Guidelines.
Please login with your APS account to comment.