Gene Linked with Physical Pain Sensitivity Associated with Social Rejection Sensitivity
Those rejected by romantic partners are more likely to tolerate abuse from a new partner... now we know why women put up with pathological men (and vice versa). Ugh! Naomi Eisenberger & Shelley E. Taylor Science Daily UCLA psychologists have determined for the first time that a gene linked with physical pain sensitivity is associated with social pain sensitivity as well. Their study indicates that variation in the mu-opioid receptor gene (OPRM1), often associated with physical pain, is related to how much social pain a person feels in response to social rejection. People with a rare form of the gene are more sensitive to rejection and experience more brain evidence of distress in response to rejection than those with the more common form. The research was published Aug. 14 in the early online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and will appear in the print version in the coming weeks. The findings give weight to the common notion that rejection "hurts...