The Power of Love
When
we go through a sad or difficult time and our morale is low, one of the first
places we turn to in an effort to feel better is a loved one. I mean, a hug
from a friend, significant other, or parent can take all of our pain away,
right? It turns out that researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder and
the University of Haifa conducted a recent study that suggests that this may be
true.
The
study looked at 22 heterosexual couples, age 23 to 32, who had been together
for at least one year. Using electroencephalography (EEG) caps to measure their
brain activity, the couples completed several two-minute scenarios. During the
trials, the couples were asked to sit in various positions, ranging from 1)
sitting together but not touching, 2) sitting together and holding hands, and 3)
sitting in separate rooms. These same scenarios were then repeated, but the woman
was also subjected to mild heat pain on her arm. Astoundingly, the researchers
found that merely being in each other’s presence (with or without touching)
resulted in brain wave synchronicity in the alpha mu band, which is a
wavelength associated with focused attention. And if the couple held hands, the
synchronicity increased even more. This phenomenon is regarded as “interpersonal
synchronization”, which simply indicates that people physiologically mirror the
people they are with. On the other hand, the researchers found that when the
female was in pain and the man was not allowed to touch her, the coupling of
the brain waves diminished. Thus, the results of the study appear to suggest
that “pain totally interrupts this interpersonal synchronization between
couples and touch brings it back,” as explained by Pavel Goldstein, the lead
author of the publication.
Another
notable finding of the study was that subsequent tests of the male partner’s
level of empathy revealed that the more empathetic he was to the female partner’s
pain, the more their brain activity synced up, and thus, the more her pain
subsided. The authors agree that future studies should look into explaining
this phenomenon, but perhaps one rationalization is that empathetic touch makes
a person feel understood, which in turn activates pain-killing mechanisms in
the brain. Future studies should also explore if this same phenomenon exists
within same-sex couples, or in other types of relationships. But for now, Pavel
explains that the take away is “Don’t underestimate the power of a hand-hold.”
Story
Inspiration:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180301094822.htm
Journal
reference:
Pavel Goldstein, Irit
Weissman-Fogel, Guillaume Dumas, Simone G. Shamay-Tsoory. Brain-to-brain
coupling during handholding is associated with pain reduction. Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences, 2018; 201703643 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1703643115
-Posted by
Nicole Ayres (1)
Post #2
This reminds me of a mother's touch, and how a newborn listens to their mom's heart beat and it comforts them. I have a question - when you say that in the presence of the woman's partner, she could no longer feel the heat pain? Or seeing him just helped her focus on something else.
ReplyDelete-- Hannah Kullberg (2)
It's really interesting that you say that, as that was one of my first thoughts too when I read this article. I wouldn't be surprised if similar mechanisms underlie the physiological reactions in both situations. As for your question, the study simply says that in the presence of her partner (with or without touching), brain wave synchronization occured, which led to subsequent pain alleviation in the woman. I wouldn't say this means that she didn't feel the heat pain, but rather the comfort from the partner's support during the infliction of the heat pain lessened the effect of the pain.
Delete- Nicole Ayres (1)
Before reading your blogpost, I knew that seeking out another person during a difficult time is definitely good for one’s emotionally well-being. I never knew that seeking out another’s comfort could have an effect on a deeper level, like in brain waves. It’s interesting that the experiment had the female’s being shocked, instead of the male. I wonder what the results would be if the roles were switched around. What are your thoughts? Did the researcher have a purpose of choosing the females to experience the shock instead of the males?
ReplyDelete- Angelina Weng (3)
Yeah that's why I found this study so interesting! I knew that emotional support from a loved one could ease one's troubles, but I didn't know it went so far as to involve brain wave activity. The researchers did not explain their reasoning for choosing the role assignments, but I agree it would be super interesting to see the results from a study in which the male was subjected to the heat pain. I would imagine that similar trends in the results would be seen, but of course the only way to know for sure is to conduct the experiment.
Delete-Nicole Ayres (1)
I loved this post! I have always believed that couples in love or even best, best friends are somehow brain waves connected. Simple things like receiving a phone call when your going to call that person, or feeling that something is wrong and finding out that is actually is, are feelings which make me think there is another element of connection that we haven’t delved in. I am very intrigued to see that researchers have finally done experiments with interest in discovering more about this phenomenon. It is interesting to learn that another element does exist between people who are connected emotionally. What most stood out to me was that when the female was in pain and the man was not allowed to touch her, the coupling of brain waves diminish. This goes to show how important physical touch is, and how these aspects really do affect relationships on a deeper level.
ReplyDelete-Kamilla Leao (2)
Exactly! For me, I think it was most interesting that the level of brain wave synchronization varied from least synchronization in the separate room setup, a little more synchronization in the same room/no touching setup, and the most synchronization in the hand holding setup. I also found it fascinating that the more empathetic the male was for the female's pain, the more their brain waves synched up too! It really does show the power of romantic emotional connection on physiological pain.
Delete-Nicole Ayres (1)
Whenever I have any issues, I always go to someone to vent and talk about my problems. I feel that after I vent/talk about it, it makes me feel better and I get over it quickly, whether it makes me sad or angry. It's interesting that more empathetic a guy is, the more their brain activity synced up with his significant other when she's sad, but it really does connect the dots. I feel like a lot of my friends (including myself) feel better after venting and spending time with their boyfriends and friends. It's also amazing how helpful "touch" or holding hands is when someone is going through something. Since this study only focuses on heterosexual couples, is there anything about homosexual couples?
ReplyDelete-Catherine Tsang (3)
The researchers only looked into heterosexual couples, so one of their main suggestions for further research was to look into same-sex couples as well as relationships of various types (married vs. dating vs. open relationship, etc.). My intuition thinks that such studies would yield similar results, but I would love to see them actually executed!
Delete- Nicole Ayres (1)