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How similar is the “hurt” of rejection to physical pain? To examine whether both types of pain activate the same brain regions, these investigators used functional magnetic resonance imaging in 40 subjects recruited because they felt “intensely rejected” after “experiencing an unwanted romantic relationship break-up.” They viewed pictures of a friend (and were told to think about positive experiences) or the ex-partner (and thought about the rejection). In other trials, the participants were exposed to two levels of thermal stimulation on the forearm so that researchers could examine brain activations with mild warmth or physical pain.
Participants rated their social rejection and physical pain at comparable levels of distress on 5-point sca…