Description: Arthritis pain is processed in areas of the brain that also control emotions and fear, a U.K. study finds.

The study, published in the April issue of the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism, may offer a new target for treating arthritis pain.

The analysis included 12 people with knee osteoarthritis. Using brain imaging scans, researchers at the University of Manchester Rheumatic Diseases Centre monitored the patients' brain activity as they experienced osteoarthritis pain, pain caused by heat application, and no pain.

Both the osteoarthritis and heat-induced pain activated a network of brain structures known as the pain matrix, which contains two parallel systems. The medial pain system processes the emotional aspects of pain, including fear and stress. The lateral system processes the pain's physical location, intensity and duration.

While both osteoarthritis and heat-induced (experimental) pain activated both systems, osteoarthritis p