[00:06] optical illusions get all the attention. can be fooled and can fool the brain. is the thermal grill illusion.
[00:21] I have some hot dog halves in an ice bath. Now what I'm going to do is marry the halves together Warm, cool.
[00:37] When I'm done, I will have a torture device. But not one that hurts your body, one that hurts your mind. [laughing]
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[01:08] - Welcome to "Mind Field." - [chuckles] "Nerdy Nummies." - So I thought she would be the perfect candidate
[01:20] - Now you didn't hear or see anything I just did, right? What I want you to do is take the bottom of your forearm
[01:33] Right onto these hot dogs. But now touch them individually. Cold, warm, cold, warm, cold, warm.
[01:50] - But none of them is as hot as they all felt together. What's going on over here? - Can I try? What we've built here is a version
[02:04] And for reasons that are still being debated, Maybe the sensors we have, specific to hot and cold, And getting them to fire right together
[02:19] If they're both firing that near to each other, - Red alert, yeah. - That's what my arm did. this is a great way to hurt someone
[02:32] without there ever being a mark or any actual damage. - That's pretty sneaky. - Do try this at home. ♪ ♪
[02:52] that send touch-related sensory information to the brain. don't even need to be generated by nerve endings.
[03:05] The most well-known type of sympathy pain It's when a pregnant woman's husband Husbands can actually sympathize
[03:18] that they experience the same problems, nausea, mood swings, et cetera.
[03:30] It's pain sparked by seeing someone else get hurt. - Amputees can actually be more susceptible to it because experiencing trauma can make the brain more sensitive
[03:46] Amputees can also feel pain in the limb That is known as phantom pain. that the brain and pain interact
[03:59] Have you ever heard of the placebo effect? actually cures a person's pain Well, today,
[04:13] If a subject expects like pain, will they feel it even if it actually exists only in their mind.
[04:26] to test a non-invasive bone density scanner. But actually, it's a totally fake machine and the kind of $10 laser pointer
[04:41] It doesn't cause physical pain, or for that matter, It doesn't hurt at all. You guys, this doesn't work. make our subject think she's feeling real pain?
[04:57] Just go ahead and take a seat right there. just let us know and we'll dismiss you, okay?
[05:09] expect to experience pain. Sorry, Jessica, this is for science. - Yeah. I just, you know, need a minute.
[05:25] - It's like a targeted laser. - Did it hurt? - Yeah. it appears we have successfully primed our subject
[05:39] - Okay, Jessica, we're ready for you. will she actually feel pain - Hi, Jessica. Come on in.
[05:54] the medical equipment, the hospital supplies, is designed to play on Jessica's mind. To psychologically induce the anticipation of pain.
[06:09] It's not invasive. We need to measure And I want you to be really descriptive And pay close attention to the pain that you feel
[06:22] Notice how we are suggesting that she will feel pain, - I'm gonna give you a ball to squeeze - And any time you want to stop, it stops right away.
[06:38] - You ready? [machine humming]
[06:50] - It's definitely warm. - Uh-huh. And, like, like, tingly. she's already feeling a physical sensation on her skin,
[07:05] Keep in mind, we tested our fake bone scanner, - Yeah, now it's-- doesn't feel that great. - We're at 30 seconds. - Really, like, stinging.
[07:21] really, really hot. - Now it's hot. We're at 45 seconds. - Yeah, it doesn't--it's... - Okay, I'm gonna turn it off. - Okay, thanks.
[07:35] - It was, like, warm and then that, like, heat grew - On this pain scale, could you point to - Between a six and a seven.
[07:49] she experienced significant pain. This is completely up to you, but we can move to level two, - How many more levels are there?
[08:03] - Oh, my gosh. - But again, - Uh, yeah, sure. Let's do it. [chuckles] Will she feel an increase in her level of pain
[08:18] - Mm-hmm. [machine humming] We're not doing anything different than before, - So, yeah, it started off higher
[08:32] It's definitely, like, already stinging. - Immediately, she reports increased pain on level two. like, penetrating.
[08:46] 1/2 and inch or, like, an inch. Yeah, it is... it's very hot. Um, like burning.
[09:00] Like my whole arm is, like, on fire. - Yeah. - Okay, we're off. - You're welcome. - [sniffs]
[09:15] - Could you rank for me how you felt at level two? - The power of suggestion was so strong, she felt almost the worst pain imaginable.
[09:30] Other subject felt different imaginary sensations. - Stop. - How did that feel? Actually it's tingling a lot more now
[09:45] - I was surprised at the intense reaction only in their minds. - Look, I'm gonna stop it now. That was 45 seconds.
[09:58] - It felt like a little prickle - What about our original subject How will she feel when she learns it was all in her head?
[10:15] So this is a psychology program, This is just a machine that makes noise.
[10:27] - For real? - For real. - We didn't do anything to you. - Oh, my God. - This is an investigation in pain anticipation.
[10:39] I was so close to, like, going to, like, I was so close to leaving. - Uh-huh. - How do you feel about that?
[10:53] or I was nervous, which is why I felt it. if I think there's going to be pain, a burning sensation on my arms.
[11:05] - The power of suggestion is so strong even after learning it wasn't real. The name for the effect is the nocebo effect.
[11:18] - It makes perfect sense, you know, I'm shaky just thinking about it.
[11:34] But what about when touch straddles the line When a sensation makes you laugh I'm talking about tickling.
[11:49] Your brain doesn't know exactly what to expect On the other hand, it's impossible If the brain knows where and when and how
[12:03] But professors of cognitive neuroscience have invented the tickle machine. that is connected to a handle.
[12:19] the brush rotates at the exact same time Then the machine is switched into tickle mode... of less than a second between when the subject
[12:33] - [laughing]  - This slight change thus allowing the subject to respond to the tickle.
[12:45] - Tickles can be fun. If you couldn't feel pain, that would be great, right? Let's meet Steve Pete.
[13:01] - Yes, I was born with a rare genetic condition It only affects about 40 to 50 of us around the world with it. So far that we've been able to find.
[13:14] - Pain is used to detect injury "Hey, don't do this anymore." It's an alarm system. we feel what's going on
[13:27] you would feel me touching your shoulder, that's painful, I would feel just a pressure, - Okay, so you feel everything-- - Everything else.
[13:41] - Yeah. Correct. - But that could be dangerous. - Well, what happened was I was teething So my parents quickly took me to my pediatrician.
[13:56] - Do you itch? - Yes. - What about a headache? - No. I mean, I do sense the burning sensation,
[14:11] - What about intestine pain like gas pain? so that kind of ties into one of my biggest fears, or any other type of internal damage
[14:26] I'm sure that people, often naively, Well, you should become a boxer." being that I have had so many injuries during my childhood,
[14:40] Other than that, really, - I cannot describe pain to you. - Which is where I run into my problem
[14:54] - Wow, I'll bet. This was really, really fascinating. So not being able to feel pain is actually a bad thing.
[15:09] But likewise, the anticipation of pain can be bad too. Just making someone think that they might be tortured soon The CIA and Guantanamo Bay are known
[15:22] involving the anticipation of pain against prisoners in the war on terror. The effects of this type of torture can last a lifetime.
[15:35] Waiting for pain to happen or the pain itself? You might be surprised. on an anticipation of pain experiment,
[15:51] which gave subject two options. Or option two: Anticipate a lower level of pain
[16:04] Researchers found that the psychological effects of dread can often be worse than the pain itself. by setting up a fake research study.
[16:18] the effects of electrical stimulation on the body. But it can be unpleasant. - Right. I want to show you first what we call the light setting, okay?
[16:32] - I guess so. - And then there's the high setting. - Okay. - I don't--[laughing]
[16:44] - Yeah. - But you're safe. - Okay. - Ready? [buzzing] Hmm, okay.
[16:57] - Oh, okay. - Okay. - Okay. All right, so now that you know the two differences,
[17:11] which is one high voltage shock every ten seconds for a minute. the higher, more painful shocks,
[17:23] Or choice B is one low voltage shock Or will they choose the lower shocks,
[17:36] between shocks for a solid hour? What's worse? A higher level of pain? the lower level of pain?
[17:51] - I think I'll do the shorter, Now that they've made their choices, experience these two options?
[18:05] the lower level of pain during the course of an hour along with our actors, - Hi.
[18:20] - This subject's hour-long ordeal is just beginning. and take the more painful shocks right away? Here's shock number one. [buzzing]
[18:34] - Yes, the shock is painful, but it was her choice. - It's really painful. - It's half over.  - Exactly.
[18:49] - Shock number four. [buzzing] Number six. [buzzing] Meanwhile, our other subject is only on shock number one.
[19:06] five more to go. [buzzing] the subject has plenty of time for the pain and its anticipation to occupy his mind.
[19:21] - Hi, Jerome, would you come with me? Tell me about why you chose the lower voltage choice.
[19:33] - While you were sitting there how did you feel? so basically you got your thoughts.
[19:46] - This anxiety may be the reason why opted to receive the more painful shocks right away, of anticipation.
[20:01] Why did you choose the higher shock group? I think ten seconds is easier to go along with So it's kind of like
[20:14] - You'd rather-- - Hard and fast. [soft music] Tickling may be annoying,
[20:28] and pain may be, well, painful, but we crave touch. Hugging can actually decrease your risk
[20:42] And hugging can lower blood pressure. Hugging can also release oxytocin, I guess what I'm trying to say is...
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