Pain Thresholds

On Monday, a man was up a tree near Telscombe Cliffs, East Sussex. John Stirling was cutting branches when his chainsaw slipped and he sliced off his arm below the elbow. He then knocked at a neighbour's door and said 'Please help, I've just cut my arm off.'

The neighbour whisked him and the limb off to hospital, pausing only to store the arm in a bag containing frozen pastries. After fourteen hours of surgery, the arm was replaced and according to staff at the Victoria hospital, the patient is 'very well'.

Today, scientists at Oxford University have published research that provides evidence of a type of pain relief that is based on mind power.

Twenty-four students were recruited and divided into two groups: twelve non-believers and twelve Roman Catholics. In one part of the test, both parties were subject to electrical shocks whilst looking at an image of the Virgin Mary. The scientists discovered the Roman Catholic group felt less pain than the atheists and the agnostics.

In another side to the test, the participants were shown da Vinci's 'Lady with an Ermine' and were given the same electrical jolt: both groups recorded the same pain levels.

The scientists analysed images of the volunteers' brain activity and discovered marked differences: when the Roman Catholics were presented with the image of the Virgin Mary, a part of the brain called the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex was stimulated.

According to lead researcher Katja Weich, this part of the brain 'helps people reinterpret pain and make it less threatening'. The Roman Catholics 'felt safe by looking at the Virgin Mary, they felt looked after.' The scientists are not suggesting that 'this effect is specific to religion; [it] is about the state of mind you can achieve.'

If John Stirling is not a morphine addict, he must be a mental giant and Katya's team need to reopen their notebooks as soon as he waves goodbye to the hospital. Knowing how he stimulates his ventrolateral prefrontal cortex should help us through the credit crunch, the latest developments in Zimbabwe and possibly even trick or treat.

Further research should also provide answers to the following questions:

1. If an arborist can withstand the loss of an arm without screaming, is it ever possible to torture a tree-hugger?
   


2. If elements of the experiment were altered, how would the Roman Catholics respond to an image of Tracey Emin's bed?
   


3. What is the latest eBay price for those pastries?