Scientists will be able to measure the pain threshold in humans
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.
We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.
Neurophysiologists from Colorado conducted several studies, during which it was found that the level of pain experienced by people can be assessed on a certain recent scale.
The main indicator for determining the level of pain will serve certain areas of the brain. In the popular scientific American journal was published a report on the experiments conducted and information that specialists are engaged in the development of a universal tomograph that can determine the different levels of pain. Until now, there was no universal method for measuring human pain. The maximum that modern medicine has achieved is the questioning and questioning of patients. American neurophysiologists have found a new way to identify and identify pain sensations. In human brain tissue, a complex network of nerve cells was discovered, the activity of which will help to determine how severe pain is, for example, in case of a burn. Specialists were able to determine the indicators of pain in the human body. The results of the measurement of pain were obtained after a comparative analysis of the brain activity of the participants in the experiment. The study involved more than a hundred volunteers. With the help of a tomograph, specialists were able to assess the level of pain experienced by the experiment participants after the burns. The experiment consisted in that each volunteer participant needed to touch the metal several times, which could be hot, cold or warm. In the course of the study, specialists monitored the activity and reaction of the brain to changes in the temperature of the metal. The most important for the result of the study were those areas of the brain that turned out to be the most active.
Unexpected discovery was the fact that the areas of brain activity at the time of touching a metal product were approximately the same for all participants in the experiment. Prior to this study, specialists believed that the pain centers of each person are individual and located in different areas of the brain.
The results of the study showed that the activity of the pain centers was not affected by the metal temperature: the same pain centers reacted to both the warm metal and the heated one. The discovery allowed specialists to develop a universal algorithm for measuring the level of pain sensations. This algorithm can be used to assess the strength of pain in each person.
At the moment, scientists are studying the effect of brain activity on various types of pain. Experts intend to try the developed method for the study of chronic pain. There is information that during the chronic pain other parts of the brain are involved and specialists intend to study them in more detail. The head of the research is sure that if it is possible to determine the indicators of chronic pain, in the near future physicians will be able to alleviate the suffering of those people who are prone to chronic diseases. It is interesting that the indicators of mental pain have nothing to do with the indicators of physical pain. For mental suffering, other parts of the brain that are not sufficiently studied are responsible.
[