Researchers point out that hunger has an effect of suppressing chronic pain

It may be accompanied by chronic pain until such time as cure of muscle inflammation or injury due to intense exercise, until complete recovery. Normally, when you have such a pain, you are going to deal with the pain by drinking pain medicine or sticking a poultice. According to Amber Alhadov of Pennsylvania University, mouse experiments show that, on an empty stomach, you will not feel chronic pain due to injury or inflammation.

A Neural Circuit for the Suppression of Pain by a Competing Need State - ScienceDirect
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867418302344

Hungry Mice Feel Less Pain | GEN
https://www.genengnews.com/gen-news-highlights/hungry-mice-feel-less-pain/81255625

Hunger is a gatekeeper of pain in the brain
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-04759-0

The research team of Alhadov et al. Conducted experiments on how mice who were unable to feed 24 hours responded to the pain experienced during an empty stomach. Then, the hungry mice found that they feel almost no inflammatory pain which is felt by chronic diseases and injuries compared with the mice regularly being fed. In contrast, it is said that it responded to direct pain which adds heat or applies force.


In addition, the research team has also confirmed the movement of neurons at this time, focusing on neurons expressing agouti-related protein (AgRP) as an object of analysis. Brain'sHypothalamusThere is an arcuate nucleus, one of the mechanisms involved in the ingestion of food. This arcuate nucleus has a population of neurons expressing AgRP and activating this population of neurons transfers "need for diet" to the brain.

The research team confirmed that stimulation of neurons by expression of AgRP suppresses the signal of inflammatory pain and brings about an analgesic effect. Conversely, suppressing the expression of AgRP has been shown to cause inflammatory pain, and it has been shown that "inhibition of inflammatory pain" and "expression of AgRP" correlate with each other.

In addition, when direct pain such as fever was given, the activity of AgRP was abruptly suppressed, and the brain was supposed to prompt another action. In other words, expression of AgRP also showed that not all sensations of pain are suppressed.


Mr. Aljaedef said, "The results shown in this result make sense for animals, even if animals are having pain due to injury, overcome inflammatory pain when looking for food to live In spite of the variety of pain, there is a very wonderful thing to suppress only inflammatory pain, "he says.