The Neanderthal Roots of Pain Sensitivity

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In a Popular Mechanics article, Tim Newcomb reports on a 2023 study that traces part of our sensitivity to pain back to the Neanderthals. A team of researchers found that a few genes inherited through ancient interbreeding can lower the threshold for certain kinds of pain in modern humans. The findings were published in the journal Communications Biology.

Newcomb highlights that modern humans outside Africa carry a little Neanderthal DNA from interbreeding tens of thousands of years ago, and scientists have already tied that inheritance to traits like nose shape and disease risk. This study adds pain sensitivity to the list.

Below are the key points from Newcomb’s reporting:

  • The gene involved. The work focused on three variants of a gene called SCN9A, which helps nerve cells signal pain by alerting the body to damage. People who carried all three variants tended to be more sensitive to pain than those who carried only one.
  • A specific kind of pain. The effect showed up in one narrow setting: a pinprick to skin that had first been treated with mustard oil to make it more sensitive. The same variants did not change how people tolerated heat or pressure, so this is about sharp, mechanical pain rather than pain in general.
  • Who carries it. The three variants are common in Latin Americans and people with more Native American ancestry, but largely absent in Europeans. Researchers tie this pattern to population bottlenecks during the early settlement of the Americas.
  • What it does and doesn’t show. Co-author Kaustubh Adhikari of University College London said in a statement that the results suggest Neanderthals “may have been more sensitive to certain types of pain,” while stressing that more research is needed. First author Pierre Faux said the work shows how genetic variation “can alter how we perceive pain,” including genes inherited from Neanderthals.

For now, the researchers say it is unclear whether this heightened sensitivity once offered an evolutionary advantage, or whether it is simply another trace of Neanderthal ancestry carried in modern bodies.

Acknowledgement: This summary was generated using AI writing tools as part of my AI Explorations process. For more, see the original articles linked below.

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