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Published online 4 May 2006 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news060501-9
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Dread prompts pain in the brain
Imaging shows that anticipation can be as horrible as the event itself.
The paralysing dread one feels before an injection or tooth extraction fires up some of the same brain regions involved in feeling pain itself, say researchers who subjected plucky volunteers to electric shocks. Their discovery supports the idea that distraction could ease a nasty wait.
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