London: May not be all, but some people
really do feel the pain of others, say researchers.
A new study by Birmingham University has found that
around one in three people actually feel physical discomfort
when they see someone else in agony, leading British newspaper
`The Daily Telegraph` reported.
For the study, the researchers conducted an experiment
in which they invited 123 university students to watch video
clips and photographs of patients and sports stars in painful
situations.
The videos included a footballer breaking his leg,
a tennis player turning over his left ankle and a patient
getting an injection in the hand.
All the students said that, for at least one of the
images or videos, they had an "emotional reaction" -- such as
feeling sad, disgusted or fearful. But a third, also claimed
to feel real pain in the same part of the body as the victim
they were watching.
Some experienced tingling or aching, others
felt a heavy or stabbing pain. For some the pain was fleeting
-- others complained that it lasted for several seconds, the
findings revealed.
A picture of an athlete running on a racetrack with a
clearly broken leg generated the most physical pain in the
students, according to the researchers.
PTI