The Problem of Pain: Redux

In “Pain Really Is All In Your Head and Emotion Controls Intensity,” NPR’s Jon Hamilton reports on a new finding in neuroscience that complements pre-existing knowledge – and for me, the story of Lucia Konohana from Rewrite. You can also find my posts “Cursed Hands” and “Lucia and the Problem of Pain,” both of which are relevant to this post. In particular, this article describes how the brain processes pain. It uses two pathways to assess pain: one that features an emotional aspect and another that focuses on the physiological basis of pain. How one feels is definitely linked to how one perceives pain. Positive emotions can potentially mitigate pain, while negative emotions can intensify it, which is certainly obvious but nontrivial. 

The study, called “Attention Drives Synchronization of Alpha and Beta Rhythms Between Right Interior Frontal and Primary Sensory Neocortex,” suggests that the “control” part of the brain coordinates with the sensory, or “filtering”, part of the brain. Therefore, some people can train their brains how to filter chronic pain and other intensely negative feelings. To describe the finding simply, we can consciously modulate our perceptions of pain, at least to a point. 

This information can be coupled with Lucia’s inability to feel physical pain as a result of both human engineering procedures and her rigorous training that could be decried as inhumane. In short, her condition matches the current understanding in neuroscience about how the brain processes pain. Engineering Lucia to no longer feel physical pain could be construed as a positive result but in the process she was damaged in a manner that extends far below mere consciousness (or the skin). This approach immensely infringes upon human rights. However, employing mindfulness meditation can help achieve a similar goal of reducing pain, while not infringing upon freedom or causing trauma.

In light of this realization, the project that “molded” Lucia can be seen as even more obscene because a more peaceful and less technology intensive alternative exists.  Especially when many of her fellow orphans died as a result of their inability to control their pain through sheer willpower. Personally, I prefer voluntary action, and this preference is supported by a strategy more intertwined with our knowledge of neuroscience, not the ability to force physiological changes onto humans by modifying gene expression or other methods.

This way, pain’s role can be molded to perform a more beneficial role: continuing to serve a warning role of a problematic situation while being partially controllable, Reading this article was quite satisfying because it supplemented my knowledge and complemented Lucia’s story. Yes, science! – well, neuroscience, to be precise.  She can then be understood in context of a greater story involving the human experience as a whole by providing a unique insight into pain. To me, that means her suffering need not spell the end of a healthy and productive life, which ultimately makes her tragedy truly rewarding. If I had to distill the significance of this article, I would say that its primary importance is revealing that pain, though powerful, can be better understood, providing a deeper insight into how the human brain operates.  Lastly, I may read the title’s namesake (The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis) someday.