6/24/2015

Whatcauseschestpainwhenfeelingsarehurt?ScientificAmerican

Whatcauseschestpainwhenfeelings
arehurt?
RobertEmeryandJimCoan,professorsofpsychologyattheUniversityofVirginia,reply
ByRobertEmeryandJimCoan | Feb11,2010

Whenpeoplehavetheirfeelingshurt,whatisactuallyhappeninginsidethe
bodytocausethephysicalpaininthechest?
JoshCeddia,Melbourne,Australia
RobertEmeryandJimCoan,professorsofpsychologyattheUniversityofVirginia,
reply:
termssuchasheartacheandgutwrenchingaremorethanmeremetaphors:theydescribe
theexperienceofbothphysicalandemotionalpain.Whenwefeelheartache,forexample,we
areexperiencingablendofemotionalstressandthestressinducedsensationsinourchest
muscletightness,increasedheartrate,abnormalstomachactivityandshortnessofbreath.In
fact,emotionalpaininvolvesthesamebrainregionsasphysicalpain,suggestingthetwoare
inextricablyconnected.
Buthowdoemotionstriggerphysicalsensations?Scientistsdonotknow,butrecentlypain
researchersuncoveredapossiblepathwayfrommindtobody.Accordingtoa2009study
fromtheUniversityofArizonaandtheUniversityofMaryland,activityinabrainregionthat
regulatesemotionalreactionscalledtheanteriorcingulatecortexhelpstoexplainhowan
emotionalinsultcantriggerabiologicalcascade.Duringaparticularlystressfulexperience,
theanteriorcingulatecortexmayrespondbyincreasingtheactivityofthevagusnervethe
nervethatstartsinthebrainstemandconnectstotheneck,chestandabdomen.Whenthe
vagusnerveisoverstimulated,itcancausepainandnausea.
SEEALSO:

Energy&Sustainability:5StepstoFeedtheWorldandSustainthePlanet |Evolution:What
SiberianBurialsRevealabouttheRelationshipbetweenHumansandDogs|Mind&
Brain:NailBitingMayArisefromPerfectionism|Space:PlutoLoverAlanSternDiscusses
HistoricJulyFlyby[Q&A]|Technology:Timeline:TheAmazingMultimillionYearHistory
ofProcessedFood|MoreScience:TheFlavorConnection

Heartacheisnottheonlywayemotionalandphysicalpainintersectinourbrain.Reent
studiesshowthatevenexperiencingemotionalpainonbehalfofanotherpersonthatis,
empathycaninfluenceourpainperception.Andthisempathyeffectisnotrestrictedto
humans.In2006apaperpublishedinSciencerevealedthatwhenamouseobservesitscage
mateinagony,itssensitivitytophysicalpainincreases.Andwhenitcomesintoclosecontact
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Whatcauseschestpainwhenfeelingsarehurt?ScientificAmerican

withafriendly,unharmedmouse,itssensitivitytopaindiminishes.
Soonafter,oneofus(Coan)publishedafunctionalMRIstudyinhumansthatsupportedthe
findinginmice,showingthatsimpleactsofsocialkindness,suchasholdinghands,canblunt
thebrainsresponsetothreatsofphysicalpainandthuslessentheexperienceofpain.Coan
implicatedseveralbrainregionsinvolvedinbothanticipatingpainandregulatingnegative
emotions,includingtherightanteriorinsula(whichhelpstoregulatemotorcontroland
cognitivefunctioning),thesuperiorfrontalgyrus(whichisinvolvedinselfawarenessand
sensoryprocessing)andthehypothalamus(whichlinksthenervoussystemtotheendocrine
system).
Althoughthebiologicalpathwaysunderlyingtheseconnectionsbetweenphysicalandmental
painarenotwellunderstood,studiessuchasthesearerevealinghowintricatethe
connectionisandhowveryrealthepainofheartachecanbe.
Thisarticlewasoriginallypublishedwiththetitle"AsktheBrains."

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Comments
OldestNewest

delkin

February22,2010,11:18AM

Fascinatingarticleaboutthemindbodyinterface.Painsensitivityandperceptionisclearlycoloredby
emotionalstates,andthearticlesuggestsaneuroanatomicalreasonforthis.
Re:thepreviouscomment,wehavescientistsatarespecteduniversityarmedwithfMRIdataandwell
groundedinneurophysiologyversus(sorryjwexler)ananonymousrespondenttypingINCAPSwith
his/herowntheoryI'llgowiththescientificexplanationwhichiswhyIfrequentwebsiteslikethis.(I
hopethatreaderswouldnotusejwexler'smethodtodeterminewhethertheyarehavingaheartattack!
Thisonlyindicatesthatitislesslikely...)
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Whatcauseschestpainwhenfeelingsarehurt?ScientificAmerican

jwexler

February22,2010,3:09PM

WELLMRDELKIN,IWRITEINCAPSBECAUSEIHAVEFAILINGEYESIGHT,THANKYOUFOR
EMPHASIZINGMYDISABILITY.IAMSURETHECOMPOSITIONPOLICEWILLBEKNOCKINGONMY
DOORVERYSOON.
YOUMISSEDTHEPOINTOFMYRESPONSE.OFYOURDEFENSIVE,FORSOMEREASON,REPLYI
HAVENORESPONSE.
PS:THEREWEREONLY2COMMENTSSOIGUESSNOBODYREALLYCARESABOUTTHISSUBJECT
ANYWAY.HOWEVERIDIDENJOYYOURCOMMENT.
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pradhangeorge

February22,2010,3:12PM

ifwerememberthateverysinglecellhasallthegeneticmakeuptomakeawholebody,weknowthateach
systeminteractswithallothers.ihavePANGSwhenshecheatsonme,butnotwheni...!!!...whyonlythe
vagusandallitsr.l.branches....whatbouttheintercostals,thephrenic,thecervicalandthebrachial
plexus.......allconstrictthethoraxlikeaminicor......andstabatthevitals.
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jwexler

pradhangeorge

February22,2010,3:55PM

RIGHTONpradhangeorge.IT'SLIKEIASKEDFORALIGHTANDGOTTHEHISTORYOFFIRE.IJUST
WENTDIRECTLYTOTHEIMMEDIATECAUSEOFTHAT"HOLDINGBACKTEARS"TYPEOFPAIN
THATCOMESFROMTHEESOPHAGUSANDNOTFROMABROKENHEART,LITERALLY.
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LaurieSiegel

February22,2010,5:58PM

Justminutesbeforereadingthisarticle,afriendmadeahurtfulcomment.Immediately,tearswelledupin
myeyesasIfeltatighteninginmychest.Nothavingeatenallday,myhungerpangsdissipatedintoa
completelossofappetite.Thefeelingswillsoonpass,however,theyhavealreadysetthepaceforthe
evening.Mypsychiatristhasreiteratedovertheyears,thathavinganegativeresponseorfeeling,doesnot
meanIhavetolisten."Ignorethefeelingsandmoveontosomethingelse."Iunderstandwhatheissaying,
yethowdoesoneignorephysicalpain.I'vemadenumerousattempts,yetIstillfeeltheneedtorideitout
feelthepainandletittakeit'scourse,whetheritbefiveminutesorfivehours.Takingastoicalapproachas
opposedtobeingemotionallymotivated,simplydoesnotworkforme.Icanmoveamuscleandchangea
thoughtbutitstilldoesn'talleviatethetighteninginmychestordrythetearyeyes.Mybrainiswiredina
waywhichcausesmetobeperhapsalittlemoresensitivethanthenextperson.Ofcourse,ifthecomment
wasmadebysomeoneIdidnotcareabout,itwouldnotbeanissueatall.Simplywritingaboutthis,was
bothcatharticandtherapeutic.
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jwexler

February22,2010,10:18PM

DEARLAURIE:IHAVEDEALTWITHTHISFROMMYSTUDENTSFORMANYYEARSANDIWILL
TELLYOUWHATITELLTHEMANDITSEEMSTOWORK.
IASKTHEM"HASANYBODYEVERSAIDSOMETHINGTHATHURTYOURFEELINGS?".OFCOURSE
THEYANSWERYES.
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"NOONECANHURTYOURFEELINGSUNLESSYOUALLOWTHEMTO.DON'TGIVEAWAYYOUR
POWER.YOUDECIDEWHETHERORNOTTOACCEPTWHATTHEYSAY".
INREALITYYOUAREACCEPTINGTHEHURTWITHOUTANYTHOUGHTHOWITWASSENT.YOU
RESPONDNEGATIVELYTOITAUTOMATICALLYWITHOUTPROCESSINGTHAT"YOUAREIN
CHARGEOFYOURREACTION,NOTTHEM".
HERE'SAGREATEXAMPLE:THEREWAS4LADIESSTANDINGINACOFFEESHOP.THEYWERE
DISCUSSINGHOWONEOFTHESELADIESWASHAVINGPROBLEMSWITHHERHUSBANDWITH
HISWORK.AFIFTHLADYHEARDTHEMDISCUSSINGTHISANDENTEREDTHECONVERSATION
THOROUGHLYOFFENDEDANDBEGANCRYINGANDDEFENDINGHERSITUATIONWITHHER
BOYFRIEND.
NOWHOWTHEHELLDIDTHISBECOMETHEFIFTHLADY'SINSULT?WELL,SHEBROUGHTIT
OVERTOHERSITUATIONANDTOOKITOUTONANINNOCENTBYSTANDER.IDON'TPRETEND
TOUNDERSTANDTHIS.ITISJUSTVERYCOMMON,INMYEXPERIENCE.
YOUAREAVERYPOWERFULHUMANBEINGANDYOUDON'TNEEDTOBEWEAKINSOCIAL
EXCHANGES.REMEMBERMOSTPEOPLEAREASSHOLESANDDON'TTHINKABOUTANYONEBUT
THEMSELVES.
"DON'TBEDISTRACTEDBYCRITICISM.REMEMBERTHEONLYTASTEOFSUCCESSSOMEPEOPLE
HAVEISWHENTHEYTAKEABITEOUTOFYOU."~~~~~~ZIGZIGLER
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gothceltgirl

LaurieSiegel

February24,2010,2:54PM

ItooamsensitiveLaurie&IknowJwexlermeanswell,butussensitivepeoplejustcan'tworkthatwayno
matterhowhardwetry.Wordshurtperiod.IfeelyourpainLaurie.Theclosersomeoneistoyouthemore
itaffectsyou.Forinstanceifsomeoneinthestreetsayssomethinginsultingtome,Idon'tcareb/cIdon't
careforthem.Butwhenitssomeonewhomyoucareaboutthenemotionalconnectionsareinvolved,its
nearlyimpossibletoignore.IhopeI'vesaidthis
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gothceltgirl

February24,2010,2:58PM

ThatvagusnervebeingoveractiveisperhapsapartofFibromyalgiaandChronicFatiguefromwhichI
suffer.IfonlyIcouldfindawaytodullthosestupidnervecenters.
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stuwy

March11,2010,7:59AM

IhavetoolearntthataslongasIamabletorestraintmyselffromlovingorcaringaboutthatperson,Iwill
notbehurtbythatpersonwhateverhe/shesaysordo.Ithurtstotellmyselftostoploving,howeverifI
wanttocontinuelivingIhavetodoso.IagreetotallywithyouLauriethatsometimesnomatterwhatthe
psychiatristortherapistsaytodo,attheendofthedayitseemsbettertohavefeltthepainandcrieditall
outnomatterhowlongitmaytaketorecover.Eventellingmyselfto'recover'Icertainlydon'treallyknow
whatthetermmeansformeanymorethesedays.Itseems'recover'means'todistract'ordivertfromthe
problemanddiveintosomethingelsemoremeaningful.Ittookme2yearstofinallyunderstandthe
selfishnessofpeoplethatIhaveneverbeforeseeninmy27yearsofliving.IwasalsotoldthatIhadtoo
muchcompassionandcare,IhatedmyselfforhavingthesetraitsbecauseallthemoreIknewIwouldbe
thesacrificialoneattheendoftheday.Bestrongandsmileforanotherdaytoallouttherewhohavelived
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Whatcauseschestpainwhenfeelingsarehurt?ScientificAmerican

thebestofyourlifeforeachtomorrow'sandyesterday's.
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Keersten

April2,2010,3:19AM

IhadbeenwonderingaboutthisbecauseIactuallyliterallygetareallyspecificfeelinginmychestif
someoneclosetomesayssomethinghurtfulorisangryforareasonIcan'tdetermine.Itonlylastsa
momentusually,andstartsintheleftsideofmychestandsometimesshootsdownmyleftarmandintomy
hand.Thesensationfeelsreallystrange.It'salmostnotpainreally...theonlywayIcandescribeitisthatit
feelslikewhenyou'vegotbutterfliesinyourstomach,butimaginethesensationinyourleftchest,armand
handinsteadofyourstomach.It'snotaconstricting,heavyfeelinglikeaheartattackwouldbe.It'sreally
bizarreandI'vealwaysbeencuriousaboutthebiologicalbasisforit.
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