By . Sarah Griffiths . From counting to ten to looking away, people have many strategies for preparing themselves for a moment of discomfort, such as injection. Now a study has found that magnifying a body part can help dull the intensity of pain. One expert believes that magnification works because a person’s attention is drawn to the place where they are expecting pain,which allows them to mentally prepare themselves. Magnification decreases pain: A new study has found that magnifying a hand (stock image) can help dull the intensity of pain. One expert believes that this could be because a person's attention is drawn to the place where they are expecting pain and they are able to lessen it because they are better prepared for discomfort . Chronic pain sufferers could soon find relief in an unusual place - by shining a light on the affected area. Researchers at Stanford University have used beams of light to control pain in mice. The team found they were able to switch receptors on and off, raising hopes the same technique could one day be used in humans. 'Patients could be given their own ability to create a pain block on demand,' said Michael Kaplitt, a neurosurgeon and chief scientific officer of Circuit Therapeutics, a San Francisco firm working with the researchers to develop a treatment for humans. In the experiment, scientists shone a blue light on mice with light-sensitive molecules in the nerve endings in their skin to inflict pain and used a yellow light to block nerve impulses. The experiment demonstrated that it is possible to turn on and off nerves causing pain at will. 'This approach may have utility in basic and translational pain research, and enable rapid drug screening and testing of newly engineered opsins,' the team said. In an experiment described in the journal . Neuropsychologia, researchers subjected participants to a pinprick on . one fingertip after using a lens to either magnify or ‘shrink’ the size . of the hand receiving the pinprick. The scientists then compared participants’ responses in the hand that appeared completely normal – neither magnified nor appearing smaller – to them, LiveScience reported. They measured the change in sweat production on the hands to examine the conductance response, or electrical properties, of the skin, which indicates the level of arousal in humans, Daniele Romano, an experimental psychologist at the University of Milano-Bicocca in Milan, Italy, explained. When a human is aroused – scared or excited – the skin produces more sweat - which boosts its electrical conductivity. Scientists found that when participants saw their hand under a magnifying glass, they felt a less intense pain than in the hand that they viewed normally. Differing pain: In a previous experiment, Lorimer Moseley, a professor of pain science at the University of South Australia found that magnifying hands made the pain worse for sufferers of chronic hand pain (illustrated). The opposite findings demonstrate that people have very different experiences of pain . They reported anticipating the pain more when the hand appeared larger, which Dr Romano believes indicates that when people pay extra attention to the body part waiting for pain, they are more mentally prepared for the sensation and it hurts slightly less. However, the science of pain is not precise and people feel it differently. In a previous experiment, Lorimer Moseley, a professor of pain science at the University of South Australia found that magnifying hands made the pain worse for sufferers of chronic hand pain. Professor Moseley said: ‘The brains of healthy volunteers are different than the brains of people with, for example, chronic complex regional pain syndrome.’ Dare to watch: Dr Romano thinks that some people might find getting an injection or a tattoo less painful if they watch the process carefully or if it is magnified . Dr Romano thinks that some people might find getting an injection or a tattoo less painful if they watch the process carefully. ‘What we obtain at the behavioural level, not at the physiological level, is that we change the unpleasantness of the stimulation and not the intensity. The more you anticipate, the less you will respond,’ he said. However, while this might work well for some people, Professor Mosely warned that others might find looking away works better for them.
A psychologist of University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy, thinks magnification works as people are prepared for pain and therefore feel it less intensely .
In a pinprick test, they found people felt less pain when they focused on their magnified hand, than when they viewed it normally .
However, a previous study found that magnification increased the pain for people with chronic hand pain .
Scientists say the differing results prove that people feel pain differently .
By . Sarah Griffiths . From counting to ten to looking away, people have many strategies for preparing themselves for a moment of discomfort, such as injection. Now a study has found that magnifying a body part can help dull the intensity of pain. One expert believes that magnification works because a person’s attention is drawn to the place where they are expecting pain,which allows them to mentally prepare themselves. Magnification decreases pain: A new study has found that magnifying a hand (stock image) can help dull the intensity of pain. One expert believes that this could be because a person's attention is drawn to the place where they are expecting pain and they are able to lessen it because they are better prepared for discomfort . Chronic pain sufferers could soon find relief in an unusual place - by shining a light on the affected area. Researchers at Stanford University have used beams of light to control pain in mice. The team found they were able to switch receptors on and off, raising hopes the same technique could one day be used in humans. 'Patients could be given their own ability to create a pain block on demand,' said Michael Kaplitt, a neurosurgeon and chief scientific officer of Circuit Therapeutics, a San Francisco firm working with the researchers to develop a treatment for humans. In the experiment, scientists shone a blue light on mice with light-sensitive molecules in the nerve endings in their skin to inflict pain and used a yellow light to block nerve impulses. The experiment demonstrated that it is possible to turn on and off nerves causing pain at will. 'This approach may have utility in basic and translational pain research, and enable rapid drug screening and testing of newly engineered opsins,' the team said. In an experiment described in the journal . Neuropsychologia, researchers subjected participants to a pinprick on . one fingertip after using a lens to either magnify or ‘shrink’ the size . of the hand receiving the pinprick. The scientists then compared participants’ responses in the hand that appeared completely normal – neither magnified nor appearing smaller – to them, LiveScience reported. They measured the change in sweat production on the hands to examine the conductance response, or electrical properties, of the skin, which indicates the level of arousal in humans, Daniele Romano, an experimental psychologist at the University of Milano-Bicocca in Milan, Italy, explained. When a human is aroused – scared or excited – the skin produces more sweat - which boosts its electrical conductivity. Scientists found that when participants saw their hand under a magnifying glass, they felt a less intense pain than in the hand that they viewed normally. Differing pain: In a previous experiment, Lorimer Moseley, a professor of pain science at the University of South Australia found that magnifying hands made the pain worse for sufferers of chronic hand pain (illustrated). The opposite findings demonstrate that people have very different experiences of pain . They reported anticipating the pain more when the hand appeared larger, which Dr Romano believes indicates that when people pay extra attention to the body part waiting for pain, they are more mentally prepared for the sensation and it hurts slightly less. However, the science of pain is not precise and people feel it differently. In a previous experiment, Lorimer Moseley, a professor of pain science at the University of South Australia found that magnifying hands made the pain worse for sufferers of chronic hand pain. Professor Moseley said: ‘The brains of healthy volunteers are different than the brains of people with, for example, chronic complex regional pain syndrome.’ Dare to watch: Dr Romano thinks that some people might find getting an injection or a tattoo less painful if they watch the process carefully or if it is magnified . Dr Romano thinks that some people might find getting an injection or a tattoo less painful if they watch the process carefully. ‘What we obtain at the behavioural level, not at the physiological level, is that we change the unpleasantness of the stimulation and not the intensity. The more you anticipate, the less you will respond,’ he said. However, while this might work well for some people, Professor Mosely warned that others might find looking away works better for them.
magnification works because a person’s attention lessen it because they are better prepared for psychologist at the University of Milano-Bicocca conductivity. Scientists found that when hand that they viewed normally. Differing pain: the pain worse for sufferers of chronic hand pain pain is not precise and people feel it differently. In a previous experiment, Lorimer different than the brains of people with, for