14 DAY TRIAL // It will probably be a while until scientists at long last get around to creating serums that can turn mere mortals into superheroes, but at least they're trying.
For one thing, researchers at the University of Manchester say we humans can make ourselves more resistant to pain. The secret, they explain, lies in altering the brain's makeup and, consequently, its chemistry.
If need be, the brain can do this all by itself
In a report detailing their work, the researchers explain how, in a series of experiments and trials, they found evidence that, in time, arthritis patients who experience severe and sometimes crippling pain often end up adding so-called opiate receptors to their brain.
These receptors respond to feel-good chemicals that are naturally occurring in the body. For instance, they respond to endorphins, which are produced by the central nervous system. When interacting with their respective receptors, such chemicals reduce our perception of pain.
The University of Manchester research team argue that, in the case of arthritis patients, the brain instinctively adds opiate receptors all by itself in an attempt to silence the pain caused by this condition. Thus, the higher the number of such receptors, the easier it is to withstand pain.
“The increase in opiate receptors in the brain is an adaptive response to chronic pain, allowing people to deal with it more easily,” the scientists explain their discovery.
Perhaps this adaptive response could be induced
If the scientists are right and the human brain does in fact have the ability to change to add more opiate receptors when faced with intense pain for prolonged periods of time, then perhaps there is also a way to trick it into undergoing such changes on command.
In turn, this could help manage chronic pain without relying heavily on drugs that can, in time, lead to serious side effects like addiction, scientist Christopher Brown and fellow researchers propose.
“Although the mechanisms of these adaptive changes are unknown, if we can understand how we can enhance them, we may find ways of naturally increasing resilience to pain without the side effects associated with many pain killing drugs,” said Christopher Brown.