The Dread is worse than the Pain

An interesting study…the brain can be much more painful than pain itself….
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It found that among 32 volunteers who agreed to have a series of shocks to the foot, some of them dreaded each shock so much that they repeatedly opted to have a higher-voltage jolt just so they could get it over with more quickly.These individuals, dubbed “extreme dreaders,” showed greater activity in a brain region related to both pain and attention. The findings, say the researchers, indicate that dread arises not from simple fear, but from the brain’s attention to the unpleasant event.”The dread is often worse than the event itself,” said lead study author Dr. Gregory S. Berns, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta.
The brain-imaging results are “good news,” he told Reuters Health, because they indicate that extreme dreaders can do something to alleviate the problem: find a distraction – such as meditation, exercise or some other activity — to take the focus off the anticipated event.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060508/hl_nm/brain_waiting_dc_1