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Pain of Rejection Scientifically Proven

Posted by michael on from the i-choo-choo-choose-you dept.

Earl the Girl writes "As Ian Sample of the guardian writes 'The pain of rejection is more than mere metaphor. A team of scientists have found that to the brain, a social snub is just like stubbing a toe.' Good to know the scientific tradition of reducing metaphors to mere similies is alive & well."

4 of 54 comments (clear)

  1. Re:So much for the old adage by Mattcelt · · Score: 2, Funny

    "...but whips and chains excite me."

    What does this have to do with rejection again?

  2. ha by gyratedotorg · · Score: 2, Funny

    i guess i'll be getting lots of dates now, unless these girls want to have charges brought up against them for assult. =)

    --
    Gyrate Dot Org - "Where high-tech meets low-life"
  3. It's a good thing by Kethinov · · Score: 2, Funny

    that slashdot didn't reject this article! It might have been most painful to the submitter! ;)

    --
    You're right, I wouldn't steal a car. But if it were possible, I sure as hell would download one!
  4. Anal Probes of Women by MonkeyBoyo · · Score: 2, Funny
    The "hook" of this story (social loss = physical pain) depends on characterizing activity in the anterior cingulate region of the brain as perception of pain. But who knows what affects are localized there? The region may correlate with higher affects - maybe social anger, helplessness, etc. If a researcher has you inside a MRI and is sticking pins in your fingers to cause pain, I am sure you would be feeing many things toward that reasearcher other than just pure pain.

    For example, a crying child can activate a woman's anterior cingulate.

    For another example, forced rectal distension causes activity in the anterior cingulate for women but not for men.
    Twenty-eight healthy, young (20-44 yr) volunteer subjects (13 male, 15 female) were studied with a paradigm-driven functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technique during barostat-controlled rectal distension at perception threshold and 10 mmHg below and above perception threshold. Male subjects showed localized clusters of fMRI activity primarily in the sensory and parietooccipital regions, whereas female subjects also showed activity in the anterior cingulate and insular regions.
    ("barostat-controlled rectal distension" basically means Inflating a balloon in your ass.)

    Is there a direct line from women's rectums to the anterior cingulate or does the activity represent some higher affect? And why women and not men? Then again, the story wouldn't be too compelling if its title was:
    Heartbreak is like a Woman with an anal probe