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Module 1.6d

also seem to be experiencing pain (Symbaluk et al., 1997). This may help explain the
apparent social aspects of pain, as when groups of Australian keyboard operators during
the mid-1980s suffered outbreaks of severe pain while typing or performing other repeti-
tive work — without any discernible physical abnormalities (Gawande, 1998). Sometimes,
the pain in a sprain is mainly in the brain — literally. When people feel empathy for
another’s pain, their own brain activity partly mirrors the activity of the actual brain in
pain (Singer et al., 2004).
Controlling Pain
If pain is where body meets mind — if it is both a physical and a psychological phenomenon —
then it should be treatable both physically and psychologically. Depending on the symp-
toms, pain control therapies may include drugs, surgery, acupuncture, electrical stimulation,
massage, exercise, hypnosis (see Module 5.5), relaxation training, meditation, and thought
distraction.

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Gary Conner/Medical Images

Acupuncture: A jab well done This acupuncturist is attempting to help this woman
gain relief from back pain by using needles on points of the patient’s hand.
Placebos
Even placebos can help, by dampening the central nervous system’s attention and responses
®
to painful experiences — mimicking painkilling drugs (Eippert et al., 2009; Wager & Atlas, AP Science Practice
2013). After being injected in the jaw with a stinging saltwater solution, men in one exper- Research PRACTICE
iment received a placebo they had been told would relieve the pain. It did — they immedi- Placebos play an important role
ately felt better. “Nothing” worked. The men’s belief in the fake painkiller triggered their in medical research. The experi-
brain to respond by dispensing endorphins, as revealed by activity in an area that releases mental method typically includes Research Methods & Design
natural painkilling opioids (Scott et al., 2007; Zubieta et al., 2005). an experimental group (exposed (SP 2)
Another experiment pitted two placebos — fake pills and pretend acupuncture — against to the treatment) and a control
group (given a placebo or different
each other (Kaptchuk et al., 2006). People with persistent arm pain received either sham version of the treatment). (5 minutes) Remind students about
acupuncture (with trick needles that retracted without puncturing the skin) or blue corn- the importance of placebos in
starch pills that looked like a medication often prescribed for strain injury. After two months, research. Having a “fake” treatment
both groups were reporting less pain, with the fake acupuncture group reporting the greater
pain drop. One-fourth of those receiving the nonexistent needle pricks and 31 percent of for your control condition (or at least
those receiving the fake pills even complained of side effects, such as painful skin or dry a treatment that mimics the status
mouth and fatigue. quo) helps ensure that the mere fact
of just getting any treatment is not
Sensation: Skin, Chemical, and Body Senses and Sensory Interaction Module 1.6d 147
causing a difference in the groups.

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