The very language of love is painful: you have a crush; you’re swept off your feet; your heart is broken. This turns out not to be poetic license: according to the latest research, the brain doesn’t distinguish much between the extreme emotional pain of social rejection and the physical pain of injury. Both experiences can activate the same neural pathways, which is why when your lover dumps you, it can hurt in a real, visceral way. Previous studies have documented the overlap in brain activity between emotional and physical pain, but those focused mainly on the regions that layer on feelings…
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