Virtual reality may eventually help to reduce reliance on opioids and allow more aggressive wound care and physical therapy, which would speed up recovery and cut medical costs.

After a month, the structure of the brains of these rats ADAPTS to increased dopamine levels, showing fewer of a certain type of dopamine receptor than they used to have and more opioid receptors.

But, the love photo acted in a totally different area of the brain-the primitive reward system region that lights up where addictive drugs work, and where pain-relieving opioids do their magic.