Mystery
Such a sweet
mystery, this
DNA-encoded
yearning for unity
Our conversation
Mystery
Hey Taigaku ~
I purchased a newspaper last night based on a front-page blurb, that in its own way, relates to your lovely, brief poem, "How love hurts ~ Broken heart may cause as much distress in brain as physical injury." I'll excerpt from the [synchronous-in-its-way] article; even though for every study, there's another study, and varying interpretations of all studies, I think you may find it interesting, too, with regard to DNA. Some people have certainly developed apart from this, loners and ascetics, people who prefer one-on-one relationships vs. groups. However, the registering in that particular brain center, of forced "isolation," I find very interesting. Wondering if you will, too.
The Broken Heart by James J. Lynch is a book I read long ago that revealed, through various studies and anecdotal observations, how some people have seemed to literally die of a broken heart. Some have observed the same phenomenon in their pets. They all seem to come together, as your poem suggests, to say that even though we may try to convince ourselves otherwise, for the most part, we really do need each other. The desire is inherently there [in our DNA], it's real, and it serves a purpose. Of course, none of this addresses the spiritual aspects of uniting with the ONE, through uniting with/within ourselves and each other.
Italics are mine. Article's [via Associated Press] headline: "A heart in pain hurts your brain, study reveals"
Sub-headline: "Researchers find physiological proof"
Excerpts [minus all the "according to"s, and crediting to the various speakers and their locations]:
"~ A rejected lover's broken hear could cause as much distress in a pain center of the brain as an actual physical injury.
~ California researchers have found a physiological basis for social pain by monitoring the brains of people who thought they had been maliciously excluded from a computer game by other players.
~ Naomi Eisenberger, a scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles and the first author of the study published today in the journal Science, said the study suggests that the need for social inclusiveness is a deep-seated part of what it means to be human.
~ There's something about exclusion from others that is perceived as being as harmful to our survival as something than can physically hurt us, and our body automatically knows this, said Eisenberger.
~ .....created a computer game in which test subjects were led to think they were playing ball with two other players. At some point, the other players seemed to exclude the test subject from the game -- making it appear the tet subject had been suddenly rejected and blocked from playing with the group.
~ The shock and distress of this rejection registered in the same part of the brain, called the anterior cingulate cortex [ACC], that also responds to physical pain.
~ The ACC is the same part of the brain that has been found to be associated with the unpleasantness of physical pain, the part of pain that really bothers us.
~ The study suggests that social exclusion of any sort -- divorce, not being invited to a party, being turned down for a date -- would cause distress in the ACC. You can imagine that this part of the brain is active any time we are separated from our close companions. It would definitely be active when we experience a loss, such as a death or the end of a love affair.
~ ....earlier studies have shown that the ACC is linked to physical pain.....the new study demonstrates that the ACC is also activated by the distress of social exclusion.
~ Throughout history poets have written about the pain of a broken heart. It seems that such poetic insights into the human condition are now supported by neurophysiological findings.
~ The tendency to feel rejection as an acute pain may have developed in humans as a defensive mechanism for the species.
~ Because we have such a long time as infants and need to be taken care of, it is really important that we stay close to the social group. If we don't we're not going to survive. The hypothesis is that the social attachment system that makes sure we don't stray too far from the group piggybacked onto the pain system to help our species survive.
~ This suggests that the need to be accepted as part of a social group is as important to humans as avoiding other types of pain."
~ Elizabeth
I purchased a newspaper last night based on a front-page blurb, that in its own way, relates to your lovely, brief poem, "How love hurts ~ Broken heart may cause as much distress in brain as physical injury." I'll excerpt from the [synchronous-in-its-way] article; even though for every study, there's another study, and varying interpretations of all studies, I think you may find it interesting, too, with regard to DNA. Some people have certainly developed apart from this, loners and ascetics, people who prefer one-on-one relationships vs. groups. However, the registering in that particular brain center, of forced "isolation," I find very interesting. Wondering if you will, too.
The Broken Heart by James J. Lynch is a book I read long ago that revealed, through various studies and anecdotal observations, how some people have seemed to literally die of a broken heart. Some have observed the same phenomenon in their pets. They all seem to come together, as your poem suggests, to say that even though we may try to convince ourselves otherwise, for the most part, we really do need each other. The desire is inherently there [in our DNA], it's real, and it serves a purpose. Of course, none of this addresses the spiritual aspects of uniting with the ONE, through uniting with/within ourselves and each other.
Italics are mine. Article's [via Associated Press] headline: "A heart in pain hurts your brain, study reveals"
Sub-headline: "Researchers find physiological proof"
Excerpts [minus all the "according to"s, and crediting to the various speakers and their locations]:
"~ A rejected lover's broken hear could cause as much distress in a pain center of the brain as an actual physical injury.
~ California researchers have found a physiological basis for social pain by monitoring the brains of people who thought they had been maliciously excluded from a computer game by other players.
~ Naomi Eisenberger, a scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles and the first author of the study published today in the journal Science, said the study suggests that the need for social inclusiveness is a deep-seated part of what it means to be human.
~ There's something about exclusion from others that is perceived as being as harmful to our survival as something than can physically hurt us, and our body automatically knows this, said Eisenberger.
~ .....created a computer game in which test subjects were led to think they were playing ball with two other players. At some point, the other players seemed to exclude the test subject from the game -- making it appear the tet subject had been suddenly rejected and blocked from playing with the group.
~ The shock and distress of this rejection registered in the same part of the brain, called the anterior cingulate cortex [ACC], that also responds to physical pain.
~ The ACC is the same part of the brain that has been found to be associated with the unpleasantness of physical pain, the part of pain that really bothers us.
~ The study suggests that social exclusion of any sort -- divorce, not being invited to a party, being turned down for a date -- would cause distress in the ACC. You can imagine that this part of the brain is active any time we are separated from our close companions. It would definitely be active when we experience a loss, such as a death or the end of a love affair.
~ ....earlier studies have shown that the ACC is linked to physical pain.....the new study demonstrates that the ACC is also activated by the distress of social exclusion.
~ Throughout history poets have written about the pain of a broken heart. It seems that such poetic insights into the human condition are now supported by neurophysiological findings.
~ The tendency to feel rejection as an acute pain may have developed in humans as a defensive mechanism for the species.
~ Because we have such a long time as infants and need to be taken care of, it is really important that we stay close to the social group. If we don't we're not going to survive. The hypothesis is that the social attachment system that makes sure we don't stray too far from the group piggybacked onto the pain system to help our species survive.
~ This suggests that the need to be accepted as part of a social group is as important to humans as avoiding other types of pain."
~ Elizabeth