Key Takeaways

There’s a reason people wince when they see depictions of painful events

The brain’s vision system contains a baked-in map of the body

These connections trigger echoes of touch sensations based on what a person is witnessing

TUESDAY, Dec. 2, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Ever wonder why you instinctively wince when you see physical harm come to a TV or movie character on screen?

There’s a scientific explanation for why we flinch when watching painful events, even though we know it’s not real, researchers reported Nov. 26 in the journal Nature .

It turns out that such scenes activate hidden links between the parts of the brain that process vision and touch, researchers found.

“When you watch someone being tickled or getting hurt, areas of the brain that process touch ligh

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