The hot-and-heavy passion and euphoria felt when falling in love, or even less intense
feelings of deep love, help to relieve pain. This is according to a new study undertaken with Stanford University students who proclaimed to have fallen wildly in love within the last six months.
Dr. Sean Mackey, the chair of the pain management division at Stanford utilized sophisticated brain scans called functional MRIs (fMRIs) to test whether or not pain perception was dulled when students looked at certain pictures or performed a certain task.
In order to participate in the study, eight female and seven male students were asked to bring a picture of their sweethearts, as well as a picture of an equally attractive friend whom they were not romantically involved with (which served as a control).
When the students underwent the fMRI scan, they were shown the two pictures on an alternating basis. As an additional control, the participating students were asked to perform a certain task (think of as many sports as you can that do not include a ball). While all of this was happening, the students held a remotely controlled heated device that would get hot enough to cause mild pain.
Throughout the experiment, Mackey asked the students to rate the level of pain that they felt on a scale from 0 (no pain at all) to 10 (the worst pain possible).
The final results indicated that students were able to withstand greater pain when they looked at the photos of their sweethearts than they were when they looked at a friend or completed a mental skill test. This would seem to indicate (to this author anyway) that the students also rated the same level of heat as causing less pain when looking at the photo of their sweethearts.
Feelings of love also engaged a part of the brain that processes needs, wants and cravings, according to Mackey. When performing the mental task, however, the students engaged “higher-thinking pathways” that diverted pain perception in a totally different way.
Previous, and similar, pain management research with drugs such as cocaine indicates 
that the brain utilizes the same “reward system” for love. Both target the “feel good” chemical in the brain known as dopamine. Love, at face value, is much less dangerous than cocaine (although some may argue that point). Cocaine, however, may be easier to come by for some people, and (unless you’re 80s rocker Robert Palmer) it’s more addictive.
In all seriousness, there are important take-aways from the Stanford student experiment, which was published online this week in the publication PLoS One. Mackey said the study proved that caregivers should pay more attention to how important loving relationships can be to someone who suffers from chronic pain. Seeking out love and maintaining it at a more intense or passionate level could help relieve pain.
At the very least, Mackey said, we can add love to the many known factors that modulate pain.
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