The pain seems to be "nice" if its intensity is much weaker than you expected

term "pleasant pain" usually represent a minor pain, according to the power of perception of space equal pochёsyvaniyu itching or slightly harder. But whether there is "pleasant" pain? The researchers argue that pleasant we feel real pain, that simply was not as strong as we thought.

To understand how people perceive pain, researchers from the University of Oslo in Norway connected to the 16 members of a special device, hurting hands with heat. Simultaneously, the test did MRIs of the brain (MRI) to measure brain activity.

For the first time, participants felt not strong pain, comparable with the touch of a cup of hot coffee. The second time the pain was a little harder. At the same time on the screen in front of them they could see what type of pain will be as follows.

In the first case some pain all the participants rated as unpleasant. But in the second case, mild pain seemed a pleasant subjects, because they were expecting to feel strong pain. This MRI showed that brain stem - the region of the brain responsible for pain - were less active than in the first case, and the frontal lobe of the brain, the so-called pleasure centers in the brain, on the other hand, earned more.

A likely explanation for this reaction may be the fact that the subjects were prepared for the worst, and was relieved when they realized that the pain will not be unbearable. In other words, a sense of relief in this case can be so powerful that it transforms negative feelings into pleasant.

via factroom.ru