An fMRI Study

An interesting experiment I heard about using fMRI was a study investigating the brain responses to social exclusion. While it may not have been a unique experiment in itself, I find that the topic was very fascinating.

The experimenters hypothesized that social pains are similar to physical pains. They focused on the anterior cingulate cortex and found that when people are distressed after being excluded from an activity, the ACC activates. It shows that social injuries have the same effect as physical injuries and steps need to be taken to restore equilibrium. It explains how we "hurt" when we lose a loved one.