Pain, Heat, and Emotion with Functional MRI

Pain, in its various manifestations, is our most distressing human experience. A large volume of evidence extending from psychology to neuroimaging emphasizes the powerful influence of both social and physical pain on mammalian well-being and survival.1 Although pain is defined as an unpleasant sensation caused by nociceptive stimuli,2 the concept encompasses social as well as physical pain. Painful emotional feelings are associated with the loss of social connection owing to rejection, exclusion from a group, personal failure, or the death of a loved one. We often describe the experience of social pain by using terms for physical pain,1 making reference . . .