Tiny babies are more sensitive to pain than adults , according to a study of infants ’ brains which overturns the medical consensus . Until now doctors have assumed that the brains of very young babies are not developed enough to feel pain . It means that newborns often go without painkillers , even during invasive procedures . But the new findings , revealed by Oxford University doctors , suggest that not only do babies feel pain , but their pain thresholds are even lower than those of adults . Scroll down for video . Research on infants ’ brains by doctors from Oxford University has found that young babies are more sensitive to pain than adults . It overturns the medical consensus that newborns have a high pain threshold ( file picture ) In the first study of its kind , the researchers showed in brain scans that infants ’ brains react in much the same way as adults when given even mild pain . Dr Rebeccah Slater , of Oxford ’ s department of Paediatrics , said : ‘ Obviously babies can ’ t tell us about their experience of pain and it is difficult to infer pain from visual observations . ‘ In fact some people have argued that babies ’ brains are not developed enough for them to really “ feel ” pain , any reaction being just a reflex – our study provides the first really strong evidence that this is not the case. ’ The results , published in the journal eLife , suggest that it is possible to see pain ‘ happening ’ inside the infant brain - and it looks a lot like pain in adults . Up until the 1980s it was common practice for babies to go without pain relief during surgery - they were given neuromuscular blocks to stop them moving , but otherwise were given no pain medication . A landmark study in 1987 suggested for the first time that doctors may have been wrong in their assumptions , and anaesthetics were introduced for major operations . But injections are still given and intravenous drips still inserted without pain relief , and far more serious procedures carried out anything to take away the child ’ s pain . Even this year , NHS guidelines are still being written that advise doctors to carry out seemingly painful procedures without anything more than ‘ a cuddle ’ . Guidelines for a procedure to treat tongue-tie - a common problem in which the bottom of an infant ’ s tongue is attached to the mouth - still suggest that no pain relief is needed . The research , which was carried out by doctors from Oxford University ( pictured ) overturns the medical consensus that very young babies do not feel pain and do not need painkillers , even for invasive procedures . The NHS guidelines , updated in January 2015 , advise that when the tongue is sliced from the mouth ’ s floor , infants do not need medication . Older babies who have already teethed should be given a general anaesthetic , doctors are told . But the guidelines say : ‘ In small babies , being cuddled and fed is more important than painkillers. ’ Dr Slater called for a review of the way tiny babies are treated . ‘ Thousands of babies across the UK undergo painful procedures every day but there are often no local pain management guidelines to help clinicians , ’ she said . ‘ Our study suggests that not only do babies experience pain but they may be more sensitive to it than adults . ‘ We have to think that if we would provide pain relief for an older child undergoing a procedure then we should look at giving pain relief to an infant undergoing a similar procedure. ’ Her team scanned the brains of ten healthy infants aged between one and six days old , and compared them to the brains of ten adults aged 23 to 36 years . MRI scans were taken of the babies ’ brains as they were poked on the bottom of their feet with a special retracting rod creating a sensation like being poked with a pencil – mild enough that it did not wake them up . The researchers found that 18 of the 20 pain regions in adults ’ brains also ‘ lit up ’ in babies ’ brains . Scans also showed that babies ’ brains had the same response to a weak poke as adults did to a stimulus four times as strong - suggesting their pain thresholds are lower . Dr Slater said it is not clear which types of painkiller would be best used for babies . There are fears that local anaesthetics can be easily absorbed into the blood stream , with unknown consequences . ‘ Finding the optimum pain relief for babies is clearly required , ’ she said .
Young babies are more sensitive to pain than adults , according to study . Score: 6