On the purpose of saying “ow” when you hurt yourself

This article was published on May 13^th 2015, at the Discover science magazine. It is classified in a section called <<Mind and brain>>.

Here I attach the link:¡ of the web page: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/seriouslyscience/2015/05/13/on-the-purpose-of-saying-ow-when-you-hurt-yourself/#.VVkBn0am2J8

Vocabulary

-          Stub: to strike (one’s toe or foot) accidentally against some object that sticks out.

-          Yell: to cry out or shout.

-          Ubiquitous: being or found everywhere, at the same time.

-          Underlying: fundamental, basic.

-          Trial: act of testing to find out if something or someone is useful or valuable.

Summary

We had probably never wondered about the fact that we need to shout or cry out when we get hurt, but a group of scientists have come up with a possible solution. 

Critical review

In my opinion, these kinds of researches are the most interesting. Of course, seeking cancer’s or Alzheimer’s cures are more important investigations, but I find neurology an absolutely interesting branch of Medicine studies.

The functioning of our brain is something everyone should know about but for me, it is fascinating to know how our system works every second to guarantee our body movements, the way we show our feelings or how we react to some treatments.

This article means to explain the recent study which aim was to prove why we cry out when we get hurt. The results of this investigation show that talking -or even swearing- makes pain ore manageable for us. The research consisted in testing a group of people by making them put their hands in freezing water. As a result of the experiment, scientists found that those that were keeping in silence did not resist for as long as the ones that shouted did. But the experiment brought up another question: is it the act of shouting or hearing someone else’s shouts that reduces pain? This ambiguity was also solved, because they made participants listen voices of people swearing and this didn’t help them resist for longer.