What 'Matters' Most? How Brain Structure Determines Pain Sensitivity

A recent study may explain how some can easily handle ordinary aches and pains. According to researchers, when it comes right down to what makes a different, it's simple--grey matter.

"We found that individual differences in the amount of grey matter in certain regions of the brain are related to how sensitive different people are to pain," senior author Robert Coghill, Ph.D., professor of neurobiology and anatomy at Wake Forest Baptist said, via a news release.

Taking a look at the noggin', we see that the organ consists both of grey and white matter. However, grey matter is primarily responsible for processing information, while matter on the other hand works to compartmentalize communication via different regions of the brain.

For the latest study, researchers examined the pain sensitivity and MRI scans of 116 healthy volunteers' brain structure.

What did they find? That less grey matter in the brain was linked to a greater amounts of pain that a patient was experiencing.

"Subjects with higher pain intensity rating had less grey matter in brain regions that contribute to internal thoughts and control of attention," first author Nichole Emerson, B.S., a graduate student in the Coghill lab said, via a press release. The brain regions studied were the posterior cingulate cortex, precuneus and areas of the posterior parietal cortex.

Both the posterior cingulate cortex and precuneus make up part of the default mode network-otherwise known as a group of connected brain regions linked to free-flowing thoughts during daydreaming.

Parts of the posterior parietal cortex, on the other hand, are particularly important for attention. Researchers believe that when people are good at focusing their attention on one thing, they may also be good at keeping pain under control.

"These kinds of structural differences can provide a foundation for the development of better tools for the diagnosis, classifications, treatment and even prevention of pain," Coghill concluded.

What do you think?

More information regarding the study can be found via the journal Pain.