Pain and the new analgesia: some will swear by it
14 August 2009
Most people have uttered an expletive when accidently hammering a thumb but new research suggests there might be good reason (NeuroReport 2009; 20: 1056-60).
It appears that swearing may have evolved as a mechanism to deal with pain.
Using an experimental design where 64 subjects submerged their hands in ice-cold water, US researchers found that, when repeatedly uttering a swear word, subjects could keep their hand submersed for longer than when they repeated a commonplace non-swear word.
When they swore, the subjects not only experienced enhanced pain tolerance, but their heart rate also increased while their perception of pain dipped compared to non-swearing. The finding surprised the authors, who had expected swearing to lessen tolerance to pain, as swearing may often overemphasise or exaggerate pain.
They believe the pain-lessening (hypoalgesic) effect occurs because swearing triggers a natural ‘fight or flight’ response. The accelerated heart rates they recorded on the patients when they swore may indicate an increase in aggression.
‘Swearing… taps into emotional brain centres, and appears to arise in the right brain, whereas most language production occurs in the left cerebral hemisphere [brain],’ the authors said.
Last Reviewed: 14 August 2009
- 1. Stephens R, Atkins J, Kingston A. Swearing as a response to pain. Neuroreport 2009; 20: 1056-60
