A possible mechanism of sadism.
Sadists enjoy inflicting pain upon others. The pathophysiology of sadism is poorly understood but the traits of major psychiatric disorders have been noted among these people. Because an abnormal threshold for pain occurs in major psychiatric disorders, I here hypothesize that the practice of sadism may be used as self-medication for an inherently aberrant pain pathway. The neurobiological basis of the mechanism and its possible relevance in the treatment of psychiatric disorders await further study.
Chuang
Jie-Yu
JY
Department of Psychiatry, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, No. 325, Cheng-Kung Road, Sec. 2, Nei-Hu District, Taipei 114, Taiwan, ROC. simone@mail.ndmctsgh.edu.tw
D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D012448:Sadism / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology