Scratch that itch: Why focusing on inflammation can reduce symptoms
Taking your mind off a pain or itch may seem the best way to deal with them but a new study suggests that attention can influence the body’s reactions. Researchers from Bar-Ilan University’s Azrieli Faculty of Medicine in Israel studied how attention can affect our inflammatory response. It showed that when people voluntarily focused their attention on sensations arising from a small area of…
A recent study from Bar-Ilan University in Israel has revealed that focusing attention on sensations of inflammation can reduce their intensity and hasten recovery. Researchers found that when healthy volunteers intentionally directed their focus to the site of a small, temporary inflammatory response in their skin, the inflammatory reaction was significantly smaller and quicker to subside compared to when they redirected their attention elsewhere.
This finding suggests that the brain's response to bodily sensations may actively influence the body's physiological reactions. The study, published in Nature Human Behaviour, involved 57 participants who underwent a procedure causing a localized inflammatory response. Half were instructed to focus on their sensations, while the other half were to distract themselves.
Measurements taken over 20 minutes revealed that nearly 90% of those focusing on the affected area experienced a diminished inflammatory response. Dr Liron Rozenkrantz, one of the researchers, emphasized that this discovery challenges the notion that bodily sensations are merely passive data for the brain to process, and instead implies they can actively shape biological responses.
The implications of this work, led by Dr Nofar Mizrachi and Prof Menachem Rottem, could have significant implications for understanding and treating conditions involving chronic inflammation, autoimmune diseases, and wound healing. However, further investigation is required to determine if these mechanisms apply broadly across other organ systems.
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