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The interaction between pain and cognition has become a hot area of research; basic scientists are studying its underlying mechanisms, and clinicians are interested in applications for treating pain. The analgesic effects of distraction may result from a form of divided attention, whereby competition for attentional and emotional resources in the brain affects the pain experience. Indeed, several studies (see below) have shown that pain can be modulated when simultaneously performing a cognitive task and suggest that as cognitive load increases, so will its distracting effect on pain. Yet, while several studies have shown that cognitive engagement can reduce pain-related brain activity, especially in primary and secondary somatosensory, insula, and cingulate cortices (Bushnell et al., 1999; Peyron et al., 1999; Frankenstein et al., 2001; Bantick et al., 2002; Tracey et al., 2002; Petrovic et al., 2004; Seminowicz et al …