Image: WIN-INITIATIVE/GETTY IMAGES
In Brief
- Human beings at large differ in how sensitive they are to pain. Much of the variation is apparently random. But gender matters. Women tend to hurt more than men do. Ethnicity can also interface with ache; some ethnic groups are more tolerant of discomfort than others are.
- In the past few years researchers have begun unraveling the genetic roots of these differences. They are also pinpointing social, cultural and psychological components that play parts in pain sensitivity.
- Assessing patients’ vulnerability to anguish may be essential to accurately judging the severity of their condition. It is also critical to deciding how to treat individuals’ pain. Revealing the molecular causes of individual variation in pain perception is already providing potential targets for novel pain medications.
More In This Article
-
Overview
MIND on Pain: When Pain Lingers
-
Overview
MIND on Pain: The Psychology of Pain
One day as a child Billy Smith (not his real name), a resident of Newfoundland, could not take off his shoe. No amount of twisting or tugging would loosen its grip on his foot. The reason for his struggle eventually surfaced: a nail had pierced the sole and entered Smith’s flesh, tightly binding the two. Removing the nail freed the foot, but solving that problem only underscored a bigger one: Smith had not noticed.
Smith is among a tiny cluster of people, fewer than 30 in the world, who harbor a genetic quirk that renders them incapable of perceiving pain. “These humans are completely healthy, of normal intelligence, but don’t know what pain is,” says clinical geneticist C. Geoffrey Woods, who studied a group of such patients from northern Pakistan. They can sense touch, heat, vibration and their body’s position in space. Yet for them, root canals are painless, as are falls, fires and whacks on the head with a baseball bat. One woman with so-called congenital indifference to pain (CIP) delivered a baby without discomfort.
See what we're tweeting about
10 Comments
Add CommentYOU WANT ME TO PAY TO READ THE REST OF ONE (1) ARTICLE??? NO WAY JOS�!!! OUTRAGEOUS I'LL GO TO THE NEW YORK TIMES OR ELSEWHERE INSTEAD
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAs a physical thrapist, I find this article extremely interesting but I question the portion of the article that discusses female hormone levels and the effect they have on pain perception. I find that women (myself included) have more pain toward the end of their mentrual cycle (when estrogen is lower), not higher as the article suggests. I have also experienced more pain while taking birth control pills. Perhaps, there is another chemical phenomenon.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSince I am a subscriber to the printed version of Scientific American, I see no reason why I should have to pay for on line access or on line articles.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI subscribe to the printed version of Scientific American. I don't understand why you charge extra for on line access.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisincredible - you want me to pay twice for the same article. you should be ashamed of yourselves
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI'm subscribed to the printed SciAm and I have to pay again?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this-_-?
how interesting...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisintriguing.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisVery, if you really see the patterns that shouldn't exist ...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisEstrogen levels are the highest right before the onset of your period (their drastic drop is what brings it on). Counting the onset as day 1 of your cycle.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this