A recent study conducted by UCLA researchers may disprove
conventional knowledge that tells us sticks and stones may break
our bones, but words will never hurt us.
The study, led by psychology graduate student Naomi Eisenberger,
found that the area in the brain which registers physical pain, the
anterior cingulate cortex, registers feelings of rejection as
well.
The social attachment system may “piggyback” onto
the physical pain system to make sure individuals stay in a social
group, Eisenberger said.
“If you stick your hand in a fire, you feel pain, and you
know you should never do that again,” she said. “In the
same way, we feel the same kind of pain when we’re either
rejected or forced to be separated from the social
group.”
According to the study, participants played Cyberball, a virtual
version of catch with two computer players. Brain activity was
monitored using functional magnetic resonance imaging.
Volunteers were first told they were not able to participate due
to technical difficulties. Participants were barred from the game a
second time, but due to the exclusion from the two computer
players.
Being excluded from the game due to technical difficulties and
not other people, called implicit exclusion, triggered a response
only in the anterior cingulate cortex, which registers feelings of
physical pain and rejection.
Explicit exclusion due to others, however, triggered a response
not only in the ACC, but also in the right ventral prefrontal
cortex, which rationalizes feelings of rejection.
“We think in the explicit condition, you know why
you’ve been excluded and you start thinking of why you had
this experience,” said assistant social psychology professor
Matthew Lieberman.
“In implicit exclusion, you may feel bad, but you
don’t know why you should feel bad,” said Lieberman,
who co-authored the study.
The right ventral prefrontal cortex tends to diminish activity
in the ACC, he said.
The need to be socially attached may be related to human
survival, as human infants are dependent on a caregiver for
necessities, Lieberman said.
“In some sense, our need for social connection is more
important than all the other needs because it provides access to
the other needs,” he said.
Though the long-term effects of constant rejection on the brain
and the ACC are not yet known, patients who suffer chronic physical
pain will suffer from distress and may be treated, Eisenberger
said.
Doctors may cut out the anterior cingulate cortex for those with
chronic pain, she said.
Constant rejection can adversely affect the body as it can lead
to poor mental health, depression, anxiety and feelings of
loneliness, said assistant psychology professor Shelly Gable.
“Not feeling socially integrated can have a higher risk of
mortality than smoking,” she said.
According to the 2002 Annual Review of Psychology, individuals
who suffer from major depression are at higher risk of having heart
attacks compared with those with no history of depression.
“Being socially integrated is extremely important for
health and well-being,” Gable said.