The Sexes Feel Pain Differently

Men and women register pain in different areas of the brain.

By Colin Allen, published on November 01, 2003

Ow! Boys and girls feel pain differently, according to a study from the University of California at Los Angeles. Research there found that male and female participants with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) have different mental wiring for registering aches.

The study, published in the November issue of Gastroenterology,involved 26 women and 24 men with IBS, which causes chronic and severe discomfort in the abdomen. The disorder affects 15 to 20 percent of Americans. The researchers took positron emission tomography (PET) brain scans of patients while subjecting them to a mildly painful stimulus.

Some areas of the brain were activated in the same way for both genders, but some regions reacted differently. The female brain was more active in the limbic regions, which are centers for emotion. Male brains had greater activity in cognitive regions, where analytical thought takes place.

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Study coauthor Bruce Naliboff, a psychologist from UCLA, gives an evolutionary explanation for the difference. Male cognitive areas may be more directly connected to the perception of pain due to a historical need to quickly make a fight or flight decision. Women, on the other hand, may be more emotionally responsive due to an evolutionary need to protect their young.

The results may signal the development of gender-specific pain treatments. The researchers note that one drug now offered for IBS affects the limbic system and is known to work better on women than on men.