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[@hubermanlab] How to Control Your Sense of Pain & Pleasure | Huberman Lab Essentials

· 7 min read
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@hubermanlab - "How to Control Your Sense of Pain & Pleasure | Huberman Lab Essentials"

Link: https://youtu.be/vm1GbSPx48g

Short Summary​

Okay, here's a breakdown of the transcript:

  • Number One Action Item/Takeaway: Understand that your subjective interpretation significantly impacts your experience of pleasure and pain, meaning you can actively modulate your responses. Factors such as expectation, anxiety, sleep, and circadian rhythms play a role.

  • Executive Summary: This Huberman Lab Essentials episode explores the neurobiology of pain and pleasure. It highlights the subjective nature of these sensations, influenced by expectation, anxiety, and biological rhythms, and details pathways in the skin and brain related to these senses, as well as factors that modulate these responses.

Key Quotes​

Here are 5 direct quotes from the transcript that represent valuable insights:

  1. "What that means is that there must be another element in the equation of what creates pleasure or pain, and that element is your brain. Your brain takes these electrical signals and interprets them, partially based on experience, but also there are some innate, meaning some hardwired aspects of pain and pleasure sensing that require no experience whatsoever." - This quote highlights the crucial role of the brain in interpreting sensory input and shaping our perception of pleasure and pain.

  2. "Essentially if subjects are warned that a painful stimulus is coming, their subjective experience of that pain is vastly reduced. However, if they are warned just two seconds before that pain arrives, it does not help. It actually makes it worse. And the reason is they can't do anything mentally to prepare for it in that brief two-second window." - This demonstrates how expectation and preparation can modulate pain perception and even make it worse.

  3. "The neurons that sense cold respond to what are called relative drops in temperature. So, it's not about the absolute temperature of the water, it's about the relative change in temperature. Therefore, you can bypass these signals going up to the brain with each relative change, one degree change, two degrees change, et cetera, by simply getting in all at once." - This provides actionable advice on how to manage the experience of cold exposure by minimizing the perceived changes in temperature.

  4. "And the moment he realized that that nail had not gone through his foot, the pain completely evaporated. And I want to make sure that I emphasize the so-called psychosomatic phenomenon. I think sometimes we hear psychosomatic and we interpret that as meaning all in one's head." - This illustrates the profound impact of perception and belief on the experience of pain, and the importance of understanding and not dismissing psychosomatic phenomena.

  5. "Basically, every time that the pleasure system is kicked in in high gear, an absolutely spectacular event, you cannot be more ecstatic, there is a mirror symmetric activation of the pain system. And this might seem like an evil curse of biology, but it's not. This is actually a way to protect this whole system of reward and motivation that I talked about at the beginning of the episode." This highlights the brain's mechanisms for homeostasis and the inevitable counter-regulation that occurs after experiencing intense pleasure, a key factor in understanding addiction.

Detailed Summary​

Here's a detailed summary of the YouTube video transcript, focusing on the key topics, arguments, and information:

  • Introduction:

    • Huberman Lab Essentials revisiting past episodes.
    • Focus today is on pain and pleasure as opposite ends of a continuum.
    • Skin as the largest sensory organ, acting as a barrier and sensory receptor.

  • Defining Pain and Pleasure:

    • Pleasure: Sensation leading to pursuit of more of the same. Appetitive behaviors.
    • Pain: Sensation leading to withdrawal. Aversive behaviors.

  • The Role of Neurons in the Skin:

    • Neurons in the skin detect mechanical forces (light touch, coarse pressure), temperature (heat, cold), and chemicals.
    • Cell bodies of these neurons reside in dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) outside the spinal cord.
    • Neurons send signals to the brain stem.
    • All neurons use the same electrical signals, but the brain interprets them based on the type of neuron activated.

  • The Brain's Interpretation:

    • The brain, specifically the somatosensory cortex, interprets electrical signals from skin receptors as pleasure or pain.
    • The somatosensory cortex contains a map of the body (homunculus) reflecting receptor density.
    • Lips, face, fingertips, feet, and genitals have magnified representation in the brain due to higher receptor density (proven by two-point discrimination experiment).

  • Subjective Interpretation and Influencing Factors:

    • Subjective interpretation profoundly influences the experience of pleasure and pain.
    • Factors influencing experiences:
      • Expectation: Knowing a painful stimulus is coming can reduce pain (optimal timing: 20-40 seconds beforehand, worse in 2 seconds before or 2 minutes).
      • Anxiety/Arousal: Influences pain/pleasure perception.
      • Sleep: Lack of sleep decreases pain tolerance, increases between 2-5 am.
      • Circadian Rhythm: Pain tolerance is higher during daylight hours.
      • Genes: Influence pain threshold and duration.

  • Absolute Qualities of Pain and Pleasure

    • People experience the same stimulus very differently, like immersion in cold water

  • Heat vs. Cold:

    • Cold: Relative drop in temperature activates receptors. Entering cold water quickly is less aversive.
    • Heat: Absolute temperature activates receptors. Gradually moving into heat is preferred.

  • Pain and Damage Correlation:

    • Experience of pain and degree of body damage are not always correlated.
    • Example: Construction worker experiencing extreme pain when a nail appeared to pierce his boot, but the nail was between the toes. Pain evaporated when he realized there was no injury.

  • Psychosomatic Pain:

    • Emphasizes that all pain is neural, regardless of its origin.
    • Addresses syndromes like chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia.

  • Potential Treatments for Fibromyalgia:

    • Glia cell activation (Toll-4 receptor) is related to whole body pain.
    • Treatments:
      • Low-dose naltrexone (prescription drug; unblocks Toll-4 receptors).
      • Acetylcarnitine (1-4 grams per day orally or by injection; may also accelerate wound healing).

  • Acupuncture

    • Relief from acupuncture varies from person to person.
    • Qiufu Ma's lab at Harvard Medical School explored electroacupuncture and it's relationship to inflamation.
    • Low intensity acupuncture in the abdomen can reduce inflammation.
    • High intensity acupuncture in the abdomen can create inflammation.
    • Electroacupuncture of the legs: Stimulates neural circuit to DMV in the brain, activates adrenal glands, releases catecholamines (anti-inflammatory, accelerates wound healing).

  • Redheads and Pain:

    • Redheads have a higher pain threshold on average.
    • MC1R gene (associated with melanin production and red hair) impacts pain perception through POMC (proopiomelanocortin).
    • POMC is cleaved into melanocyte-stimulating hormone (enhances pain) and beta-endorphin (blocks pain).
    • Redheads produce more endogenous endorphins.

  • Dopamine and Resilience:

    • Certain patterns of thinking can buffer against pain, associated with dopamine release.
    • Dopamine links to novelty, expectation, motivation, and reward.
    • Dopamine affects brain stem neurons that control immune cell release, leading to greater resilience.

  • Pleasure and its Adaptive Role:

    • Pleasure is adaptive, linked to reproduction and survival.
    • Genitalia have the highest density of sensory receptors.
    • Reproduction involves pleasure-associated sensations and molecules.

  • Dopamine and Serotonin in Pleasure:

    • Dopamine: Anticipation of pleasure and the effort required to achieve it.
    • Serotonin: Immediate experience of pleasure.
    • Oxytocin (linked to serotonin): Pair bonding, warmth, well-being, safety.
    • Testosterone (linked to dopamine): Pursuit and further effort.

  • Anhedonia and Low Dopamine/Serotonin:

    • Low dopamine/serotonin = inability to experience pleasure (anhedonia/depression).
    • Antidepressants (Wellbutrin/SSRIs) increase baseline levels of these neurotransmitters (raising the "tide").
    • Drugs can have side effects.

  • Balance of Pleasure and Pain:

    • Avoid extreme dopamine levels (high or low) to prevent circuit adjustments.
    • Every intense pleasure experience is mirrored by an activation of the pain system.
    • Repeated chemically induced high dopamine peaks lead to habituation and increased pain sensitivity (basis of addiction).

  • Conclusion:

    • Reviewed pathways controlling pleasure and pain.
    • Discussed supplements, acupuncture, and other tools for modulating pleasure/pain.
    • Emphasized the interaction of dopamine, serotonin, and related chemical systems.
    • Stressed the importance of understanding the general principles of pleasure and pain, their interaction, and the influence of subjective experience.