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Thinking of something else is a time-honored method for coping with pain. Indeed, psychologists have demonstrated repeatedly that what you think about can modulate the pain you experience. But what’s less clear is how exactly that effect plays out in the body. In a study published today in Current Biology, neuroscientists have found that distraction does more than merely divert your mind; it actually sends signals that bar pain from reaching the central nervous system.

The finding suggests the concentrating brain doesn’t just divert attention from the agony, it also triggers a release of opioid-based compounds.

Sprenger and his colleagues—whose previous work examined the placebo effect—another brain–body mystery—believes distraction is just one of many cognitive cases in which the brain modulates pain. He adds that their research is a first step. The study, however, does provide a candidate mechanism for the brain’s inhibition of the pain response, a mechanism that can be measured and further studied, eventually leading to clinical applications such as therapies. Meanwhile, the next time you have a toothache, rather than pop some acetaminophen, consider a brainteaser.