may explain the analgesic effect we observed. A second
explanation is that preoccupied individuals divert more
attention to partner cues than do individuals who are less
preoccupied. Attention is an important component of the
experience of pain, and individuals who are more thoroughly
distracted by other stimuli or cognitive tasks will
experience less acute pain [21,23]. Future studies should
explore the neurobiological properties and mechanisms of
preoccupation itself to determine whether preoccupation
augments the reward systems or acts as a distraction to
reduce pain.