• PHANTOM PAIN
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    PAIN EXPLAINED: Washington University's Min Zhuo found that a region of the brain in rats could activate neurons in the spinal cord, possibly causing feelings of pain without any external stimulation.
    PHANTOM PAIN Results from a Washington University study bring up new questions about your high-school gym teacher's old proclamations that your pain is all in your head. A research team found that chemical signals from the brain can condition nerve synapses in the spinal cord so that pain persists even in the absence of a stimulus. While investigators have known that the brain effectively reduces pain by inactivating synapses, few have considered the effect of the brain on enhancing signals of pain throughout the nervous system. Min Zhuo, an assistant professor of anesthesiology...
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