If you've been to a magic show, you know how easy it is to “cheate” your brain and see what's not there.
Now a New research Featured in the Journal Pain Reports, we present an effective but unusual fantasy that has stimulating significance in managing pain.
Researchers were exploring known phenomena such as: Rubber hand illusion (rhi) – This includes placing a fake hand on someone's table while the real hand is hidden from view.
Scientists previously discovered that when both hands are temporarily brushed simultaneously, many participants begin to experience the sensation as if they were part of the body with rubber hands.
In this new study, researchers used heat and light instead of touch. Thirty-four participants were presented with glittering red rubber hands while the actual hands hidden behind the screen received heat at various temperatures ranging from comfort to pain.
Participants used their other hand to assess pain levels, and in the control group, the rubber hand was turned upside down.
What they found was that when the rubber hand was facing the right side, participants were less painful as quickly as 1.5 seconds of illusion, and the effect continued as long as the illusion was progressing.
“We showed that the intensity of perceived pain was reduced in the illusion of the rubber hand compared to the control conditions,” read authors. Martin DearsProfessor of Psychological Medicine and Psychotherapy at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany; said in a statement.
“The findings suggest that when people perceive rubber hands as part of their bodies, this reduces their perception of pain.”
This study provides fascinating insights into how to manipulate the integration of visual and sensory information in the brain to relieve pain.
Another reason why illusions are so successful may be due to visual analgesia. This is a researched phenomenon that simply looks at the body part of the body that is in pain and reduces the perceived intensity of that pain.
However, Diers said he “still does not fully understand the neural basis of this phenomenon.”
Still, their findings could potentially pave the way for several non-medicinal alternatives to treat chronic pain. It's a relief in itself.
