Red-haired people have a higher tolerance for various types of pain, especially for stabbing pain in the skin. This is what Danish scientists, led by Professor Lars Arendt-Nielsen, from Aalborg University have discovered.
Chile
For the study, subjects were injected with the active ingredient of chili † This is how the scientists found out that people with red can handle this better than others. “They respond less to pressure around the injected area or on a pinprick. It seems that they are better protected against this pain, a very interesting finding," said Arendt-Nielsen.
The study focused on the effect of the MC1R gene , the gene that produces the brown skin pigment melanin produces. Redheads have a variant of this gene, which does not make the pigment. This makes them more sensitive to sunburn, for example.
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The research therefore shows that people with red hair are less sensitive to pain , but are more sensitive to UV rays and were also found to be more likely to develop toothaches. In addition, the research may indicate that there is a greater connection between the gene and the nervous system than has hitherto been thought.
