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 sponsorsAG1: https://drinkag1.com/hubermanLMNT: https://drinklmnt.com/hubermanEight Sleep: https://eightsleep.com/hubermanTimestamps00:00:00 Pain & Pleasure00:00:39 Skin, Appetitive vs Aversive Behaviors 00:02:10 Skin, Neurons & Brain00:04:46 Brain Interpretation, Homunculus, Two-Point Discrimination Test00:07:43 Pain & Pleasure, Subjective Interpretation00:09:53 Sponsor: AG1 00:11:30 Tool: Pain & Expectation00:13:08 Pain Threshold 00:14:46 Heat & Cold, Tool: Moving into Cold or Hot Environments00:16:37 Subjective Pain, Psychosomatic, Fibromyalgia, Whole Body Pain, Acetyl-L-carnitine00:20:54 Acupuncture, Electroacupuncture, Pain Management00:23:44 Sponsors: LMNT & Eight Sleep00:26:36 Red Heads & Pain Threshold, Endorphins00:28:32 Improving Pain Threshold, Dopamine 00:30:00 Pleasure, Dopamine, Serotonin; Depression, Anti-depressants00:34:12 Pleasure & Pain Balance, Dopamine, Addiction00:36:08 Recap & Key TakeawaysDisclaimer & DisclosuresLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Huberman Lab podcast is hosted by Andrew Huberman, Ph.D., a neuroscientist and tenured professor in the department of neurobiology, and by courtesy, psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford School of Medicine. The podcast discusses neuroscience and science-based tools, including how our brain and its connections with the organs of our body control our perceptions, our behaviors, and our health, as well as existing and emerging tools for measuring and changing how our nervous system works.
Huberman has made numerous significant contributions to the fields of brain development, brain function, and neural plasticity, which is the ability of our nervous system to rewire and learn new behaviors, skills, and cognitive functioning. He is a McKnight Foundation and Pew Foundation Fellow and was awarded the Cogan Award, given to the scientist making the most significant discoveries in the study of vision, in 2017.
Work from the Huberman Laboratory at Stanford School of Medicine has been published in top journals, including Nature, Science, and Cell, and has been featured in TIME, BBC, Scientific American, Discover, and other top media outlets.
In 2021, Dr. Huberman launched the Huberman Lab podcast. The podcast is frequently ranked in the top 10 of all podcasts globally and is often ranked #1 in the categories of Science, Education, and Health & Fitness.

• No. of episodes: 313
• Latest episode: 2025-06-26
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