HAIFA, Israel (Press Release)–A scientific breakthrough in understanding the brain mechanisms that cause physical pain resulting from depression has enabled scientists, for the first time, to study the neurological basis for emotional pain. These are the findings of a new study conducted jointly by Prof. Gal Richter-Levin of the University of Haifa and Prof. Jeansok Kim of the University of Washington, along with students Blake Pellman and Omer Horovitz.
Many patients who suffer from depression describe their emotional pain as if it were physical pain. Still, such complaints have always been considered metaphorical, and the physical mechanisms related to emotional pain were never studied. The new research conducted by Prof. Richter-Levin and Prof. Kim, which was published in the prestigious PNAS journal, shows that tracing neurological processes which form the basis for physical pain as a result of emotional pain is possible.
The brain’s response mechanisms to fear and tension have been widely researched due to the possible link between the failure of these systems and the development of psychiatric disturbances, such as PTSD and depression. Until now findings showed that during exposure to tense situations, the amygdala was stimulated by the higher brain areas and in turn stimulated areas in the brain stem responsible for reacting to fear and tension. One of these areas on the brain stem, known as PAG (Periaqueductal gray), stimulates the “fight or flight” response and is closely related to the experience of physical pain. However, according to the new research, the pathway goes in the opposite direction –it is actually the PAG that regulates the activity of the amygdala, resulting in the anxious response.
“Until now the PAG was studied only in the context of physical pain. Due to our findings, we can, for the first time, begin to investigate the neurological basis for pain that stems from extreme moods,” says Prof. Richter-Levin.
Prof. Richter-Levin and his team are already working on the next stage, together with Prof. Hansjürgen Volkmer’s lab at the University of Tuebingen in Germany, and two drug companies: Israel’s MDBiosciences and Germany’s NeuroProof. Their goal is to uncover which mechanisms in the brain are connected to the experience of emotional pain, in order to find new directions in drug development. The project was already granted funding from the Economy Ministry and Germany’s Ministry of Education and Research.
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Preceding provided by the University of Haifa
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