Ever been rejected and literally felt your heart hurt? Well, University of California and Los-Angeles researchers lead by Naomi Eisenberger may have found an answer to this-having determined a gene linking one’s physical pain threshold with their sensitivity to social rejection. In their studies they found that a mutation of the mu-opoid receptor gene OPRM1 was more common in people who were more likely to suffer from distress in response to social exclusion as well as physical pain. To back-up their studies, the researchers conducted a study involving the saliva samples of 122 people. Here, the participants were first asked the degree to which they were sensitive to being socially excluded before their saliva was tested for the presence of the variant gene. In their findings, participants with the gene reported higher levels of rejection sensitivity whilst having greater levels of activity in the pain-related brain regions such as the dorsal anterior cingulated cortex and anterior insula. According to Eisenberger, this correlation between one’s physical pain and social pain threshold might have had an evolutionary basis, due to the necessity an individual's social connections. In other words, feeling literally hurt by being given the cold shoulder may have been an adaptative strategy to ensure the existence of our “social attachment system”.
Link to original article:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/160995.php
Jessica Sun
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