Researchers Find Way to Measure Pain

Scientists at Oxford University in the UK have found a way to both identify the existence of pain and measure it's intensity using brain imaging techniques such as functional maagnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).  In a series of studies, they were able to pinpoint distinct differences between the brains of people who have pain and those who don't.  They found that pain incerased the blood flow to certain parts of the brain roughly in proportion to the intensity of the pain.  While most of the senses (hearing,  sight, etc.) activate only one part of the brain, pain can activate more than a dozen different parts of the brain.