Abnormal Amygdala Connections With Chronic Pain

The Amygdala is known as the emotional center of the brain. It has been implicated in anxiety and depression and now studies are clearly showing it is implicated with chronic pain. This study showed exactly…

What Happens in the Brain with Pain Catastrophizing?

Pain Catastrophizing is a 'tendency to magnify and ruminate about pain and having a helpless attitude toward actual or anticipated pain.' Studies show that people who catastrophize about their pain have…

Mindfulness Changes Brain Centers Linked With Chronic Pain

Article titled: "The Neuroscience of Mindfulness: How Mindfulness Alters the Brain and Facilitates Emotion Regulation" Some of the same areas of the brain that become weak (prefrontal cortex, etc) or overactive…

The Role of the Prefrontal Cortex in Chronic Pain

When looking at the brain's impact on chronic pain, we have to look to the prefrontal cortex. 2020 review of the research says: 'Its predominant role in aversive learning and memory puts the medial prefrontal…

Intolerance of Uncertainty Leads To More Pain

July 2020 publication in the Journal 'Pain' looking at what's called Intolerance of uncertainty (IU), which the study authors state is 'a dispositional fear of the unknown'  and is related to anxiety…

Fibromyalgia and Emotion Regulation Difficulties

2020 study out of Europe looking at fibromyalgia and how these people have a harder time dealing with their emotions.  As we know how we deal with emotions affects pain levels. Emotions are the biggest…

Emotional Awareness Reduces IBS Pain

Let's continue with the science around emotions and now IBS. Study Titled: "Higher Emotional Awareness Is Associated With Reduced Pain in Irritable Bowel Syndrome Patients: Preliminary Results" Conclusions This…

What Is the Relationship between Pain and Emotion? 

Great to see these guys out of Stanford put out an article asking the scientific and medical community to bridge the gap between pain and emotion, as we have severed the mind from the body with pain for…

Alexithymia Predicts Persistent Pain After Breast Surgery

Very interesting study that shows 'Alexithymia' was the only factor that predicted chronic pain 12 months after breast surgery. I call alexithymia the most important unknown word in chronic pain. It is…

Anger Repression Linked to Asthma in Adolescents

2020 study showing again how when we hold emotions in they can cause and exacerbate physical problems. In this case, anger repression and less anger expression was linked to asthma in adolescents. One…