Love is a powerful painkiller, study finds
Saturday, October 16, 2010 - 15:00
in Psychology & Sociology
Researchers say just a photo of one's beloved activates the brain's reward centers something like a drug might. Learning how to harness this could help relieve pain without drug-induced side effects, scientists suggest.Sooner or later, love usually ends up hurting. But in its early, blissful throes, it actually lessens pain — at least of the physical kind. That's the finding, reported Wednesday, of a study by pain scientists and a psychologist who studies love.