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Sticks and stones : Words can hurt ever after
posted Friday, 29 August 2008
We all know the saying: "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me," but is this proverb actually true?
According to some researchers, words may pack a harder punch that we realize. Psychologists Zhansheng Chen and Kipling D. Williams of Purdue University, Julie Fitness of Macquarie University, and Nicola C. Newton of the University of New South Wales found that the pain of physical events may fade with time, while the pain of social occurrences can be reinstantiated through memory retrievals.
The researchers set up four experiments to demonstrate this finding. In the first two experiments, participants reported the amount of pain they felt while trying to relive a physically or a socially painful experience. After writing detailed accounts of each experience, the participants reported how they felt.
The last two experiments were similar to the first two, except participants were asked to work on some cognitive tasks with different levels of difficulty after reliving a socially or physically painful event.
The results, published in the August issue of Psychological Science are clear. Participants who had to recall a socially painful experience reported stronger feelings of pain and relived the experience more intensely than those who had to recall a physically painful event. Furthermore, participants who only had to recall a physically painful event performed better on the difficult mental tasks in comparison to those who had to relive a socially painful event.
A possible explanation for these results could be the evolution of the human brain, specifically in the cerebral cortex, which is responsible for complex thinking, perception and language processing.
"The evolution of the cerebral cortex certainly improved the ability of human beings to create and adapt; to function in and with groups, communities, and culture; and to respond to pain associated with social interactions," the authors wrote. "However, the cerebral cortex may also have had an unintended effect of allowing humans to relive, re-experience, and suffer from social pain."
Chen Z, Williams KD, Fitness J, Newton NC. When Hurt Will Not Heal: Exploring the Capacity to Relive Social and Physical Pain. Psychol. Sci 2008 Aug;19(5):789-795. [Abstract]
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Action-potential
Wave of electrochemical activity generated by the flow of positively charged ions across the neuronal membrane which causes a neuron to 'fire'- Click page link for more information -
Affective disorders
Mental disorders characterized by dramatic changes or extremes of mood - depression, mania, or both - including depression, bipolar disorder (manic depression), and schizo affective disorders.- Click page link for more information -
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Two almond-shaped groups of neurons - there is one amygdala (Greek for almond) in each brain hemisphere. They have the primary role in processing and storing memories of emotional reactions.Part of the Limbic System the amygdalae trigger an instant fear reaction to perceived threats, real or imagined.
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Anterior cingulate cortex
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Autonomic arousal
Arousal of the autonomic nervous system which regulates many bodily functions and produces the physical symptoms of stress including the 'fight-or-flight' response.Brain-derived neurotrophic factor
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Narrative Exposure Therapy
Therapy developed to treat PTSD. Based on cognitive behavioral exposure therapy, it adapts classical exposure therapy to meet needs of traumatized survivors of war and torture.Survivors are asked to describe what happened to them in great detail, focusing on what they saw, heard, smelt, etc, and their feelings and thoughts at the time. Initially, sessions are distressing, but as they are long enough to allow habituation, distress levels diminish towards the end and more and more details are recalled.
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Process by which new neurons are generated after the postnatal stage of development. It appears to only occur in two areas of the brain, the hippocampus and the olfactory bulbs. Hippocampal neurogenesis is thought to counter anxiety and depression.- Click page link for more information -
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One of about 100 peptides including endorphins, enkephalins, oxytocin and vasopressin which mediate brain function by regulating gene expression, local blood flow and synaptogenesis. The neuropeptides Cholecystokinin, Substance P and Neuropeptide Y have been linked to anxiety and depressive disorders.- Click page link for more information -
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The brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections.- Click page link for more information -
Nucleus accumbens
Twin brain structures (one in each hemisphere) involved in reward, laughter, pleasure, addiction, fear, and the placebo effect.- Click page link for more information -
Polymorphism
Natural variations in a gene, DNA sequence, protein, or chromosome.-Click page link for more information-
Prefrontal Cortex
Area of the brain's frontal lobes involved in planning complex cognitive behaviors, the expression of personality and social behavior.- Click page link for more information -
Prospective study
Tests a specific question, usually about how a specific exposure(s) affects a specific outcome(s) by recruiting appropriate participants and checks the outcomes over the following months or years.Psychodynamic psychotherapy
Talking therapy used to help a person find relief from emotional pain. It is based on the theories and techniques of Freudian/Jung style psychoanalysis. However, practitioners don't necessarily accept the 'classical' psychoanalysis theory that emotional conflicts are primarily sexual in nature.Receptor
Short-lived protein molecules embedded in the cell wall of neurons, especially of their synapses, to which neurotransmitters attach to initiate an action. Also called ´binding sites´- Click page link for more information -
Receptor agonist
A chemical which is able to bind to receptors of a neurotransmitter and trigger the same biological response as that neurotransmitter.Receptor antagonist
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Research using data on exposures and/or outcomes that have already been collected through medical records or as part of another study. Such data may not be as reliable as data collected prospectively, as it relies on the accuracy of records made at the time, and on people’s recall of past events, which can be inaccurate (referred to as recall bias).Safety behavior
Behavior undertaken to reduce anxious thoughts, or to keep yourself 'safe' from imagined threats, or to hide your anxious state from others. Examples include constant monitoring of breathing or heart rate, shopping during quiet retail hours, taking precautionary tranquillizers "just in case," taking circuitous routes to avoid highways or bridges when driving, sitting close to exits, avoiding eye contact, playing with keys to hide trembling hands.Seasonal affective disorder
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Serotonin transporter
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Manifests as chronic, persistent complaints of varied physical symptoms that have no identifiable organic origin or basis. Often co morbid with other psychological disorders, particularly anxiety or mood disorders, plus irritable bowel syndrome and chronic pain. Occurs in 0.2% to 2% of females and 0.2% of males. Also known as Briquet's disorder.Sympathetic nervous system
The part of the nervous system which controls the body’s internal, involuntary processes including breathing, digestion, blood vessel tone, heart rate, etc. It also mediates the fight-or-flight response.Subgenual cingulate
Brain region high in serotonin transporter-binding sites, with strong projections to the hypothalamus and brain stem. Modulates autonomic/neuroendocrine responses and neurotransmitter transmission during the neural processing of reward, fear, and stress. May be critical for modulating widespread behavioral changes mediated by the cortex. Volume is often decreased in mood disorders patients.Also known as Brodmann area 25.
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Gaps between neurons through which "information" flows from one neuron (brain cell) to another.- Click page link for more information -
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A cytokine which has wide range of pro inflammatory actions and induce necrosis (death) of tumor cells. Exacerbates chronic inflammatory autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.Blood plasma levels are raised in patients with depression. Research had shown that antidepressants reduce its expression.
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White matter
Regions of the brain and spinal cord largely composed of nerve fibers (axons) sheathed in insulating myelin composed of lipids (fats) which give them their color.White matter abnormalities (hyperintensities):
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