It may also yield clues to why some, but not other chronic pain patients may be prone to developing addictions to certain pain medications. The finding, published in the October 18 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, may help explain why people are more likely to acquire a drug addiction during times of intense stress in their lives. It’s the first time that dopamine has been linked to pain response in humans.

Using sophisticated brain-scanning and a carefully controlled way of inducing muscle pain, the researchers show that the brain’s dopamine system is highly active while someone experiences pain” and that this response varies between individuals in a way that relates directly to how the pain makes them feel. Now, a new study from the University of Michigan adds a new twist to dopamine’s fun-loving reputation: pain. More recently, research has shown that certain drugs like cocaine and heroin amplify this effect” an action that may lie at the heart of drug addiction. ANN ARBOR, MI-For years, the brain chemical dopamine has been thought of as the brain’s ” pleasure chemical,” sending signals between brain cells in a way that rewards a person or animal for one activity or another.

Pain and pleasure prices