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Oxford University scientists will experiment on hundreds of people in a hid to understand how the brain works during states of consciousness and to see whether faith eases pain.
One aspect of the two-year study will involve followers of religious and secular faiths being burnt. This will test whether they can handle more pain than others.
Some volunteers will be shown religious symbols such as images of the Virgin Mary in the Bible during the torture.
Researchers believe the study may improve understanding of faith--how strong it is and how easily it can be removed.
The team from the newly-formed Center for Science of the Mind also want to include people with survival techniques. That may help special forces easily identify people with high pain thresholds.
Another part of the research uses anesthetic on the participants. That’s to see what painkillers have on the brain. It also tests why some people need higher doses of pain to make them unconscious. Baroness Greenfield, director of the center, said 20 years ago scientists had shied away from studying the brain in such a way but that was now changing.
"We want to find out how it is working when we are having feelings and most importantly of all when we are conscious," she said.
Alison Gray, a spokeswoman for the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Britain, said: "The experience of pain depends on biological factors such as the amount of tissue damage and the release of the natural painkillers endorphin, in the brain."
People know that religious believers can tolerate great pain when there is a specific purpose.
Scientists speculate that this would operate via endorphin release. Religious practices such as prayer and meditation release endorphins and would in theory increase the pain threshold.
According to Alison Gray, which of the following factors influences one’s experience of pain caused by a cut in arm