The DOI matches its Crossref record; 21 of the 21 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Feeling the Pain of Social Loss
Abstract
Poets have long waxed lyrical about the pain of a broken heart. Now, as Panksepp explains in his Perspective, this metaphor may reflect real events in the mammalian brain. A new brain neuroimaging study (Eisenberger et al.) reveals that the brain areas that are activated during the distress caused by social exclusion are also those activated during physical pain. Thus, we now have an explanation for the feeling of physical pain that accompanies emotional loss-whether that be the loss of a loved one, rejection by one's social group, or the distress of separation experienced by young animals.
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“Although these manipulations elicit distress, few would attribute to them the same level of intensity as the pain surrounding an unwanted romantic relationship breakup (14 -16).”
From Social rejection shares somatosensory representations with physical pain (2011) · cites this paper as [16]
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Research works printed but not linked: 2
- Panksepp J., in Progress in Theory in Psychopharmacology, , Cooper S. J., Ed. (Academic Press, London, 1981), pp. 149-175.
- Miller A., A Road Beyond Loss (Memorial Foundation for Lost Children, Bowling Green, OH, 1995)When I lost my daughter 12 years ago in a horrendous traffic accident, among her papers I found a poem that is now carved on her tombstone. The last stanza is particularly pertinent to the question of whether love can reduce the emotional pain of loss. When your days are full of pain, And you don't know what to do, Recall these words I tell you now –I will always care for you Full poem is published in.
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Metadata
- Authors
- Panksepp, J.
- Affiliations
- Northwestern University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Panksepp, Jaak
- Venue
- Science
- Published
- 2003-10-10
- Volume
- 302
- Issue
- 5643
- Pages
- 237-239
- ISSN
- 0036-8075 (ISSN-L)
- 1095-9203
- OpenAlex
- W1628671034
- Cited by
- 318
- References
- 21
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 18 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 15 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 21 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 15
- FWCI
- 19.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Keywords
- social exclusion, social pain, bodily pain, neural overlap, emotional loss, brain activation, rejection, grief, mammalian brain, neuroimaging
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Brain Mapping, Cerebrovascular Circulation, Emotions, Endorphins, Gyrus Cinguli, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Narcotics, Pain, Rejection, Psychology, Social Isolation, Prefrontal Cortex
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