The Huberman Lab Podcast discusses neuroscience: how our brain and its connections with the organs of our body control our perceptions, our behaviors, and our health. We also discuss existing and emerging tools for measuring and changing how our nervous system works. Dr. Andrew Huberman is a tenured Professor of Neurobiology and Ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine. His laboratory studies neural regeneration, neuroplasticity, and brain states such as stress, focus, fear, and optimal performance. For more than 20 years, Dr. Huberman has consistently published original research findings and review articles in top-level peer-reviewed journals, including Nature, Science, Cell, Neuron, and Current Biology. He is a regular member of several National Institutes of Health review panels and a Fellow of the McKnight Foundation and the Pew Charitable Trusts. Dr. Huberman regularly consults for technology development companies, professional athletic organizations, and various units of U.S. and Canadian Special Operations.
Essentials: How to Control Your Sense of Pain & Pleasure
In this Huberman Lab Essentials episode, I explore the sensations of pain and pleasure, explaining how they are sensed in the body and interpreted by the brain as well as methods to control their intensity.
I discuss both the hardwired mechanisms and subjective factors that shape an individual’s perception of pain and pleasure. I also explain why pain thresholds vary from person to person and discuss various treatments for pain management such as acupuncture and supplements. Finally, I explain the role of key neurochemicals like dopamine and serotonin in mediating our experience of pain and pleasure.
Read the episode show notes at hubermanlab.com.
Thank you to our sponsors
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Timestamps
00:00:00 Pain & Pleasure
00:00:39 Skin, Appetitive vs Aversive Behaviors
00:02:10 Skin, Neurons & Brain
00:04:46 Brain Interpretation, Homunculus, Two-Point Discrimination Test
00:07:43 Pain & Pleasure, Subjective Interpretation
00:09:53 Sponsor: AG1
00:11:30 Tool: Pain & Expectation
00:13:08 Pain Threshold
00:14:46 Heat & Cold, Tool: Moving into Cold or Hot Environments
00:16:37 Subjective Pain, Psychosomatic, Fibromyalgia, Whole Body Pain, Acetyl-L-carnitine
00:20:54 Acupuncture, Electroacupuncture, Pain Management
00:23:44 Sponsors: LMNT & Eight Sleep
00:26:36 Red Heads & Pain Threshold, Endorphins
00:28:32 Improving Pain Threshold, Dopamine
00:30:00 Pleasure, Dopamine, Serotonin; Depression, Anti-depressants
00:34:12 Pleasure & Pain Balance, Dopamine, Addiction
00:36:08 Recap & Key Takeaways
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