Traumatic Childhoods Produce More Painful Adulthoods
New research finds a link between adolescent adversity and later-in-life pain.
Pain
Dispatches: The Lasting Impact of Racial Trauma
News and notes from Pacific Standard staff and contributors.
Why Don't We Have Better Pain Drugs?
The answer involves both biology and economics, but the opioid crisis is forcing us to consider investing more in pain research.
Prescription Painkiller Abuse Linked With Heroin
As states crack down hard on pain prescriptions, some are seeing a resurgence in abuse of the harder stuff.
Low-Tech Pain Relief: The Power of Mouthguards
For Vince Clark, immediate pain relief for his son came not from brain-stimulating devices, but something more low-tech.
Can You Supercharge Your Brain?
Applying mild electrical currents to your head could take away pain, help memory, and improve attention—and the U.S. military is very interested.
The Upside of Personal Tragedy
After painful life experiences we're more likely to appreciate life's little delights.
Computers See Human Pain Better Than You
A new study reveals that expression recognition software performs way better than humans at discriminating between real and fake emotion.
The Benefits of Walking on Fire
Those who participated in a fire-walking ritual felt happier and less fatigued afterwards than close relatives who spectated.
Torture Permanently Alters the Body's Response to Pain
Could a new medical finding make it harder to claim something isn't torture?
Can Non-Violent Video Games Dampen Our Humanity?
That’s the tentative conclusion of two researchers, who report that frequent players of immersive games are apparently less sensitive to pain.
9 Ideas to Make Tylenol and Other Acetaminophen Drugs Safer
Scientists, regulators, and manufacturers have come up with numerous proposals that could reduce the toll of deaths and injuries from one of America’s most popular drugs.
The Racial Empathy Gap
Why, with all other things being equal, do people react more strongly to images of light-skinned individuals being harmed than they do to those involving dark-skinned individuals?
Playing Prokofiev Is a Pain: The Physical Toll of Being a Musician
A new study from Australia finds working as an orchestral musician takes an intense physical toll.
Study: Bondage Aficionados Are Better-Adjusted Than Most
New research from the Netherlands finds that the psychological profile of people who enjoy certain non-mainstream sex games is surprisingly positive.
The Power of the Creative Arts
A recent analysis of past studies highlights the health benefits of music, dance, and art therapy, which are now being used to ease cancer-related anxiety and pain.
Why Do We Hurt Each Other? Understanding the Boston Marathon
Struggling to understand the Boston Marathon explosions.
Pills Fight Pain -- And You Don't Even Have to Take Them
New research finds simply examining a bottle of ibuprofen increases tolerance of physical suffering.
Musical Meds
New research on endorphins finds people have higher pain thresholds immediately after performing music or dancing.
What Is Torture? We Know It (Only) When We Feel It
What constitutes torture? New research finds the answer varies with the level of pain one is currently feeling.
The Chemical Contrails of the Placebo
Studies are finding that the pain relief induced by placebos may come from releasing the body's own chemical pain relievers.
Seeing Is Perceiving
Is it possible to feel less pain if you look directly at the affected area? Take two drops of Murine and call us in the morning.