Sticks and Stones: Brain Releases Natural Painkillers During Social Rejection

Check out this fascinating article I just read from Science Daily:

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me," goes the playground rhyme that's supposed to help children endure taunts from classmates. But a new study suggests that there's more going on inside our brains when someone snubs us -- and that the brain may have its own way of easing social pain.

The findings, recently published in Molecular Psychiatry by a University of Michigan Medical School team, show that the brain's natural painkiller system responds to social rejection -- not just physical injury.

What's more, people who score high on a personality trait called resilience -- the ability to adjust to environmental change -- had the highest amount of natural painkiller activation.
The team, based at U-M's Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Institute, used an innovative approach to make its findings. They combined advanced brain scanning that can track chemical release in the brain with a model of social rejection based on online dating. The work was funded by the U-M Depression Center, the Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research, the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, the Phil F Jenkins Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health.

They focused on the mu-opioid receptor system in the brain -- the same system that the team has studied for years in relation to response to physical pain. Over more than a decade, U-M work has shown that when a person feels physical pain, their brains release chemicals called opioids into the space between neurons, dampening pain signals.
David T. Hsu, Ph.D., the lead author of the new paper, says the new research on social rejection grew out of recent studies by others, which suggests that the brain pathways that are activated during physical pain and social pain are similar.

"This is the first study to peer into the human brain to show that the opioid system is activated during social rejection," says Hsu, a research assistant professor of psychiatry. "In general, opioids have been known to be released during social distress and isolation in animals, but where this occurs in the human brain has not been shown until now."
The study involved 18 adults who were asked to view photos and fictitious personal profiles of hundreds of other adults. Each selected some who they might be most interested in romantically -- a setup similar to online dating.

But then, when the participants were lying in a brain imaging machine called a PET scanner, they were informed that the individuals they found attractive and interesting were not interested in them.

Brain scans made during these moments showed opioid release, measured by looking at the availability of mu-opioid receptors on brain cells. The effect was largest in the brain regions called the ventral striatum, amygdala, midline thalamus, and periaqueductal gray -- areas that are also known to be involved in physical pain.

The researchers had actually made sure the participants understood ahead of time that the "dating" profiles were not real, and neither was the "rejection." But nonetheless, the simulated social rejection was enough to cause both an emotional and opioid response.

Suffering slings and arrows differently
Hsu notes that the underlying personality of the participants appeared to play a role in how much of a response their opioid systems made.

"Individuals who scored high for the resiliency trait on a personality questionnaire tended to be capable of more opioid release during social rejection, especially in the amygdala," a region of the brain involved in emotional processing, Hsu says. "This suggests that opioid release in this structure during social rejection may be protective or adaptive."
The more opioid release during social rejection in another brain area called the pregenual cingulate cortex, the less the participants reported being put in a bad mood by the news that they'd been snubbed.

The researchers also examined what happens when the participants were told that someone they'd expressed interest in had expressed interest in them -- social acceptance. In this case, some brain regions also had more opioid release. "The opioid system is known to play a role in both reducing pain and promoting pleasure, and our study shows that it also does this in the social environment," says Hsu.

The new research holds more importance than just pure discovery, note the authors, who also include senior author Jon-Kar Zubieta, M.D., Ph.D., a longtime opioid researcher. Specifically, they are pursuing further research on how those who are vulnerable to, or currently suffering from depression or social anxiety have an abnormal opioid response to social rejection and/or acceptance. "It is possible that those with depression or social anxiety are less capable of releasing opioids during times of social distress, and therefore do not recover as quickly or fully from a negative social experience. Similarly, these individuals may also have less opioid release during positive social interactions, and therefore may not gain as much from social support," Hsu theorizes.

Hsu also notes that perhaps new opioid medications without addictive potential may be an effective treatment for depression and social anxiety. Although such medications are not yet available, he adds, "increasing evidence for the neural overlap of physical and social pain suggests a significant opportunity to bridge research in the treatment of chronic pain with the treatment of psychiatric disorders."

If nothing else, perhaps knowing that our response to a social snub isn't "all in our heads" can help some people understand their responses and cope better, Hsu says. "The knowledge that there are chemicals in our brains working to help us feel better after being rejected is comforting."

Lee Mediators - Part 1

This fall I will be training all of our fifth graders to be Peer Mediators using the Peers Making Peace curriculum.  Once students are trained, I will allow them to sign-up to help younger students on our campus with conflict resolution, under my supervision.

I started with a discussion of what conflict means.  Students brainstormed synonyms and we were able to come up with a working definition that conflict ultimately means "a disagreement."  It can be anything from an argument to a fight to a war.

I then asked them,

• "Who in this room has ever had a conflict?"
• "Who are some of the people we have conflict with?"
• "What are some of the things we have conflict about?"

With conflict fresh in our minds, I had them describe the feelings that come up when dealing with conflict in their lives.  It was easy to find a common theme amongst the feelings, they are all negative feelings.  Most often in conflict we find there is a winner and a loser.

I then asked students, "If we could change conflict to be win/win, do you think the feelings might be more positive?"  Mediation does exactly that and I will be training you to do this!  I shared some scary statistics that have appeared in the news over the last year of students handling conflict in a lose/lose battle.  This charged up our mission to help other students at Lee handle conflicts!

I will be teaching them about conflict and new skills for dealing with conflict, communication skills and the process of mediation.  They will help our school become a better place by helping students talk about their conflicts, thus reducing fights at our school and helping students find a positive way for solving their problems.

I also sent home a parent note explaining the program:

This year, fifth graders at Lee Elementary will be trained as peer mediators, “Lee Mediators.”  Recognizing that young people are competent to participate in the resolution of their own disputes encourages student growth and gives students skills such as listening, critical thinking, and problem solving that are basic to all learning.  Mediation training, with its emphasis upon listening to others’ points of view and the peaceful resolution of differences, assists in preparing students to live in a multicultural world.  Also by shifting the responsibility for solving appropriate school conflicts from adults to students, it frees teachers to concentrate more on teaching than on discipline.  

Conflict is a natural human state that often accompanies change.  It is better approached with skills than by avoidance.  The use of mediation in school-based disputes can improve communication between and among students, teacher, administrators and parents.  It can improve the school climate and provide a forum for addressing common concerns.  Medication training helps both students and teachers broaden their understanding about themselves and others and provides them with a lifetime of dispute-resolution skills.  Mediation training also increases students’ interest in conflict resolution, justice, and the American legal system while encouraging a higher level of citizenship activity. 

Students will learn about

• conflict and new skills for dealing with conflict,
• communication skills,
• process of mediation
• and how to help in making Lee a better place

I will be training our fifth graders this fall and upon the completion of training they will be available for mediations between students and others interested in resolving their conflicts in a nonviolent manner, under my supervision.  Please let me know if you have any questions about this program.

What Children Need Most

SQUIRREL: Distractions in Our Day

Just as Doug, the talking dog in Pixar's "Up!", experiences distractions in his life - so do all of us in our daily lives.  According to this study completed by ars technica and published in the New York Times, it can take up to 15 minutes to get your mind back on track after you've been distracted.  That's a lot of wasted time!  My goal for this lesson was to help third graders identify which daily distractions interrupt their school work and how we can be proactive in eliminating them.

I began by reading the hilarious book, This Morning Sam Went to Mars written by Nancy Carlson.  This is a fun real aloud that visually grabs students and puts them in the middle of Sam's wild imagination.  After struggling to pay attention in life, Sam's dad and doctor help him come up with strategies to work on being more successful each day.

Then the fun began.  I brought in Ned.  Who is Ned you might ask?  Ned is originally from the game, "What's in Ned's Head?"  I took this large "head" and filled it with common distractions that occur throughout the school day, such as lawnmowers, friends sharpening a pencil, etc.

 (This is Ned)

(This is what I filled Ned's head with)

Students loved seeing me reach into his ears and his nose to pull out the next distraction.  As I revealed each card, we discussed whether or not this is a distraction that we create inside our brains or is it a distraction in our environment.  We added our decisions to a chart to organized our thinking:

Once the distractions were organized, we talked about what we have control over (ourselves) and what we do not have control over (everything else).  Although we don't have control over our environment, there are some strategies we can use to lessen their interruption (ask them to stop, use kelso's choices, switch seats, etc.)  We then brainstormed ways to blast these distractors out of our minds and refocus:

PDF of Handout

Keys to Success in 4th Grade

 
Each year I LOVE to do this lesson with my fourth graders!  It comes from Puzzle Pieces, a guidance lesson book full of relevant lessons for my students.  This lesson helps students learn the relationship between success in school and future success in a career.  The students had a great time taking some job "tests." ;)

I began the lesson by having students name as many jobs as they could think of.  This led the students to the realization that they do currently have a job - school.  We then talked about behavior and about how repeated patterns of behavior can become habits.  Once a behavior becomes a habit, it can be difficult to break.  Habits tend to influence our reputation.  I used examples of habits that students could have right now that would greatly affect them later in life in a career or occupation - being late, failing to complete a task, speaking disrespectfully to authority, or not getting along with peers.

Students then learned about three keys to being successful at any job.  The first is following directions.  Be sure to ask your child if you can see their following directions test.  The second key is concentrating.  The third key is to think before any choice.  Your child will most likely try to trick you with their extra copy of "Job Test Number Three."  The point of this test is that you cannot always go with your first impulse when answering a question or performing a task.  Most times decisions require thought and concentration.

These ideas that we discussed in class can help students not only in future careers but also in their current schoolwork.  School is the practice field for most of life's experiences, and your child is at an age where realizing that everything they are learning is relevant and applicable to everyday life is crucial.

Teaching Tolerance: There Are No Bullies

This article from Teaching Tolerance brings up some great points about bullying:

Bullying is a hot-button issue. High-profile lawsuits and suicides have thrust bullying into the national spotlight. More schools are implementing policies designed to protect victims and crack down on perpetrators. In some schools, however, these efforts are outpacing education about bullying and the conditions that compel youth to engage in it. For the sake of all students, the time has come to look closely at two questions: Why do kids bully? How can we help them stop?

Why do kids bully?
Bullying is a behavior, not an identity. For behavior to qualify as bullying, two conditions must exist:

• The aggressor must intend to hurt or intimidate someone less powerful.
• The behavior must be repeated.

A young person’s behavior may meet these conditions in some situations but not others, which leaves schools, parents and researchers searching for underlying motives.
Jaana Juvonen, a professor of developmental psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles, explores the motives of power and control in her research on bullying. “We’re talking about strategic behavior that is there for a particular purpose … to fill a need. And the need is being able to control others,” says Juvonen. “These are kids who are very deliberately, intentionally trying to hurt another kid. They want to dominate and feel powerful … Then the question in terms of how to help [a child who] bullies is to ask, 'Why do they have this need for control and power?'"

While attempting to answer this question, Juvonen has noticed that bullying behavior spikes during transition years, particularly the transition from elementary to middle school.

“It is during these times of social uncertainty where some kids resort to … primitive means to establish a social hierarchy,” she says. “When you get into a new social environment you really don’t have a sense of where you fit in, where you rank, who are your friends versus foes. It is helpful to have this dominance hierarchy.”
Why some kids take this path and others don’t isn’t well established. What is clear is that aggressive kids often perceive ambiguous interactions—and even facial expressions—as negative or threatening. Kara Penniman, a school-based social worker in Columbus, Ohio, notes that students who bully often think their behavior is justified because others are “out to get them,” and this belief touches off a cycle of negative interactions.

“Many kids who exhibit bullying behavior … don’t see themselves often as being particularly powerful,” Penniman explains. “Sometimes they themselves are experiencing intimidation, threats, power and control problems with other people, so it can be really common for them to see themselves as the victim.”
Ultimately, though, all youth who exhibit bullying behavior—victims of aggression or not—are using bullying as a tool to meet a strong need, says Juvonen.

“[There are] these incredibly powerful cyclical pathways,” she says. “Kids learn that there’s this unmet need to feel powerful, to be able to control others, then you act in certain ways and you get rewarded for it.” These rewards, however, exist in the short term only.

According to bullying experts Dan Olweus, Sue Limber and Sharon F. Mahalic, 60 percent of boys who bullied others in middle school had at least one criminal conviction by the age of 24; 40 percent had three or more convictions. A recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that youth who bully are at increased risk for depression, conduct disorders, substance abuse and suicide.

How can we help?
The painful effects of bullying lead many educators to focus on justice and safety for students who are targeted and to feel contempt for those responsible for the pain—an approach that often results in harsh disciplinary measures, such as suspensions and expulsions from school.

These zero-tolerance measures may appear responsive, but Juvonen and most experts who study school discipline warn against policies that make school a threatening, uncertain place. Juvonen notes that in addition to not addressing the root causes of bullying, such harsh tactics fuel the perception that youth have no choice but to fight for themselves.

The most effective bullying interventions don’t focus on only one category of kids, but rather acknowledge that all students benefit when schools empower youth and teach them about healthy relationships.

(article continued here)

Feelings Bingo!

This week in kindergarten I put the kiddos to the test!  For the last few weeks we've been discussing feelings through different stories and activities.  I introduced Feelings! Bingo to them and explained the rules.  Since each bingo board had different feelings faces on it (from Jellybean Jamboree), I showed each face and we brainstormed what they might be feeling.  Then I explained that I will be reading clues for them to figure out which feeling I'm describing.

For example, "I put my shirt on backwards this morning and my classmates are laughing at me."  I elaborated by describing what your body might be feeling, "blushing, hanging head low, holding back tears, hiding face, stomach doing flips..."  (embarrassed)

When students earned "Bingo!" I gave them a feelings face sticker:

I concluded the lesson with one of my favorite tricks, The Magic Coloring Book of Feelings!  It appears to be just a regular coloring book, but I ask students to describe how they are feelings and "throw" their feelings into the book which "colors it."  They enjoy when I shake out their feelings and end up with a blank book.