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Rapamycin extends mouse lifespan 9–14%
NAD+ precursors reverse aging in humans
Blue-light glasses improve sleep quality
Walking 10 min after meals blunts glucose
Verdict change — caffeine half-life downgraded

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How to Control Your Sense of Pain & Pleasure — Whalespan

Content›Video›How to Control Your Sense of…

How to Control Your Sense of Pain & Pleasure

Andrew Huberman2h 16m · 2021-08-09

Claims Made

227

Claims Supported

192

Support Rate

85%

Support rate

192 of 227 claims supported

192 supported35 partial / not

Claims from this content

163

✓Well SupportedInside Tracker's platform provides actionable protocols to adjust blood markers into ideal ranges for health.✓Well SupportedRegular blood work is essential for monitoring factors impacting immediate and long-term health.✓Well SupportedHelix Sleep mattresses and pillows are tailored to individual sleep needs assessed through a quiz.✓Well SupportedThorne supplements are considered highly stringent regarding ingredient precision and quality.✓Well Supported

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A. Volkovreader

4h

Bookmarking — the dossier-vs-overview split is the right call. Most of the time I want overview; sometimes I want receipts.

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N. Park

2d

Would love a "what would change this verdict" RSS feed. Sign me up if it exists.

Athletic Greens is a drink containing vitamins, minerals, probiotics, and adaptogens designed to meet foundational nutritional needs and aid recovery from stress.

✓Well SupportedThe Helix Dusk Mattress is reported to improve sleep depth, duration, and quality.

✓Well SupportedAthletic Greens supports the gut microbiome, which is vital for the immune system, endocrine system, and gut-brain axis, influencing mood and neurotransmitter production.

✓Well SupportedVitamin D3 is critical for metabolism, hormone function, and brain function, and most individuals do not get enough even with ample sunlight.

✓Well SupportedDopamine increases during anticipation of a positive event, with a smaller increase upon experiencing the reward.

✓Well SupportedAkkermansia muciniphila supplementation may improve gut-barrier integrity and metabolic markers in older adults.

✓Well SupportedAndrew Huberman takes Athletic Greens twice a day.

✓Well SupportedAreas of the body with magnified representation in the somatosensory cortex include the lips, face, fingertips, feet, and genitals due to higher sensory receptor density.

✓Well SupportedThe Reveri app offers free self-hypnosis scripts, including those developed by Dr. David Spiegel, which have been clinically shown to relieve chronic pain.

✓Well SupportedCold exposure should be entered into all at once, provided it can be done safely, while heat exposure should be entered into gradually.

✓Well SupportedRemaining still in cold water generates a thermal layer that makes the water feel warmer than moving around.

✓Well SupportedPhenylethylamine (PEA) increases dopamine and dopamine-related metabolites, enhancing energy, well-being, and motivation.

✓Well SupportedThe diving reflex, activated by submerging the body in cold water, is a survival system that preserves oxygen and prevents rapid hypothermia.

✕Not SupportedExtreme cold water exposure can shock the heart and potentially cause a heart attack.

◐Partially SupportedMucuna pruriens is nearly pure L-DOPA and can be taken as a supplement to increase dopamine levels, though it can cause side effects like crashing.

✓Well SupportedIntermittent reinforcement is the most powerful dopamine reward schedule for maintaining behavior.

✓Well SupportedIntrinsic motivation decreased when children knew beforehand they would receive a reward for an activity they already enjoyed.

✓Well SupportedInsideTracker's 'inner age' test compares biological age to chronological age, which is important for predicted lifespan.

✓Well SupportedGetting into cold water quickly, all at once, is neurobiologically more effective than entering slowly.

✓Well SupportedIngesting PEA before an experience can increase the subjective rating of pleasure derived from that experience.

✓Well SupportedLow-dose naltrexone (LDN) at doses around 4.5mg blocks toll-like receptor 4 on microglia.

✓Well SupportedTwo-point discrimination tests the density of sensory receptors in a given area.

✓Well SupportedDopamine is released in response to the anticipation of a reward, and this anticipation serves as fuel for work.

✓Well SupportedTo maintain the dopamine system's proper tuning, rewards should not be given every single time an accomplishment is achieved.

✓Well SupportedHypnosis increases activation in brain areas responsible for deep relaxation, focus, and interoception simultaneously.

✓Well SupportedThe Reveri app's hypnosis for smoking cessation is a powerful and worthwhile resource for individuals trying to quit nicotine.

✕Not SupportedAndrew Huberman tends to avoid L-tyrosine because he experiences a significant crash afterward.

◐Partially SupportedFibromyalgia and other forms of whole-body pain can be explained, in part, by the activation of glia cells and their Toll-4 receptors.

◐Partially SupportedObsessive love, associated with the dopamine pathway, can reduce the unpleasantness of physical pain.

◐Partially SupportedResponse to acupuncture for pain relief varies significantly between individuals.

✓Well SupportedLow baseline levels of dopamine and serotonin can lead to anhedonia or depression.

◐Partially SupportedRepeated exposure to high magnitude chemically induced dopamine peaks leads to habituation and increased pain perception.

✓Well SupportedPain threshold and duration are influenced by genetic factors, including potential differences in redheads.

◐Partially SupportedAcetyl-L-carnitine supplementation can improve sperm motility, speed, and trajectory, and may also be beneficial for women's fertility.

◐Partially SupportedElectroacupuncture and acupuncture work through specific neural pathways and are linked to dopamine.

◐Partially SupportedModulating dopamine release at random intervals, similar to casino reward schedules, can help maintain engagement in desired activities over time.

◐Partially SupportedAcetyl-L-carnitine may impact inflammatory cytokines such as Interleukin-1 beta, C-reactive protein, and Interleukin-6.

◐Partially SupportedRedheads have a higher pain threshold because their bodies produce more endogenous opioids.

◐Partially SupportedAcetyl-L-carnitine (1-4 grams per day) may reduce symptoms of chronic and acute pain and improve peripheral nerve health.

◐Partially SupportedGambling is highly addictive due to dopamine system activation through intermittent reinforcement schedules.

◐Partially SupportedAgmatine and S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAMe) have demonstrated impacts on various forms of pain, including osteoarthritis and injury-related pain.

◐Partially SupportedNeurons use electrical signals to communicate different stimuli to the brain.

◐Partially SupportedDietary agmatine sulfate is safe and efficacious for treating pain, improving quality of life, and alleviating lumbar-disc associated pain.

◐Partially SupportedSelf-hypnosis for 10-15 minutes a few times a week can provide significant pain relief for chronic pain conditions.

◐Partially SupportedIndividuals experience the same thermal stimulus, such as cold water immersion, with vastly different perceived pain levels.

◐Partially SupportedThe periaqueductal gray area in the brain deploys endogenous opioids under certain conditions, leading to a feeling of bliss and increasing pain thresholds.

✓Well SupportedOverloading with SAMe can increase homocysteine levels, which is detrimental.

◐Partially SupportedIndividuals with low dopamine levels exhibit reduced motivation to pursue pleasures, even if they can still experience pleasure.

◐Partially SupportedAntidepressants can save lives and should be individualized due to potential side effects.

◐Partially SupportedAddiction is largely based on dopamine system habituation, where pleasure decreases and pain increases with repeated chemical stimulation.

◐Partially SupportedDopamine affects specific circuits that signal good conditions, enabling resilience against challenges.

◐Partially SupportedExcessive exposure to radiation can cause tissue damage without the perception of pain.

◐Partially SupportedElectroacupuncture is increasingly covered by insurance and is being explored mechanistically by institutions like Stanford and Harvard Medical School.

◐Partially SupportedHigher arousal enables greater pleasure and pain tolerance.

◐Partially SupportedPain threshold has two dimensions: the amount of stimulation required to elicit a pain response, and the duration for which the pain persists.

✕Not SupportedUsing a sauna while running a fever can dangerously elevate body temperature and potentially kill neurons.

◐Partially SupportedThe brain's representation of the body (homunculus map) is plastic and can change, with adjacent areas invading each other after limb removal.

◐Partially SupportedThe experience of pain and pleasure involves subjective interpretation beyond skin neuron signals.

◐Partially SupportedAcupuncture has a mechanistic basis for effectiveness beyond placebo.

◐Partially SupportedNociceptors transmit information about specific stimuli impacting the skin, and the brain assigns a subjective value like 'painful' to this information.

◐Partially SupportedTestosterone and dopamine together create an 'action state' that increases willingness to exert effort.

◐Partially SupportedWhen using heat therapies, start cautiously and increase temperature gradually.

◐Partially SupportedThe brain interprets electrical signals from sensory neurons to create the subjective experiences of pleasure and pain, a process that can be innate or learned.

✓Well SupportedRubbing or shaking an injured area primarily activates touch fibers rather than pain fibers.

◐Partially SupportedDopamine modulates pain and can transform the experience of pain into something pleasurable.

◐Partially SupportedPhenethylamine (PEA) released in response to dark chocolate ingestion can heighten the perception of pleasure.

◐Partially SupportedRewards should be delivered intermittently and randomly to maintain motivation.

◐Partially SupportedThe timing of anticipation for a painful stimulus, specifically 2 seconds or 2 minutes before, can worsen the pain experience.

◐Partially SupportedThe experience of pain and the degree of tissue damage to the body are not always correlated.

◐Partially SupportedPeople experience vastly different perceived pain levels from the same thermal stimulus during cold water immersion.

✕Not SupportedMechanistic evidence for laser photobiomodulation is not strong, and independent studies funded by federal institutions are needed.

◐Partially SupportedThe visual system's interpretation of pain has been leveraged to treat extreme forms of chronic pain.

◐Partially SupportedAll experiences of pain are neural in origin.

◐Partially SupportedMatrix metalloproteinases aid in healing by breaking down elements around wounds and allowing cells like microglia to clean up wounds.

◐Partially SupportedShingles rash has a sharp boundary because the virus resides on a specific nerve and its dermatome.

◐Partially SupportedAdjusting excitement downwards, even when experiencing positive events, helps preserve the ability to experience excitement in various contexts.

◐Partially SupportedResearch suggests that individuals respond differently to acupuncture.

◐Partially SupportedRubbing a hot pepper on the skin can create a sensation similar to that experienced when eating it.

◐Partially SupportedSkin neurons are specialized to respond to mechanical forces, temperature changes, and certain chemicals.

◐Partially SupportedAntidepressants like Wellbutrin (bupropion) and SSRIs (e.g., Prozac, Zoloft) raise tonic levels of dopamine and serotonin, respectively.

◐Partially SupportedHeat receptors respond to absolute changes in temperature, unlike cold receptors which respond to relative changes.

◐Partially SupportedExcessive scarring can impede the infiltration of cells necessary for wound healing.

◐Partially SupportedAn anecdote suggests a heightened pain tolerance in a redhead tolerating a 10-minute ice bath, potentially linked to endogenous opioid production.

◐Partially SupportedInflammatory cytokines are secreted by the immune system in response to stressors, including physical and mental stress, and ingesting too much of certain foods like those with hidden sugars.

◐Partially SupportedInterleukin-6 (IL-6) is a common inflammatory marker, while Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is an anti-inflammatory cytokine.

◐Partially SupportedSAMe has shown comparable efficacy to Naproxen for pain relief at certain doses, though it may take longer to produce effects.

◐Partially SupportedShort-term inflammation and scarring can be beneficial for dealing with wounds and stress, but long-term inflammation is detrimental.

◐Partially SupportedIntermittent reward schedules can harness dopamine biology to provide sustained motivation.

◐Partially SupportedThe brain and body communicate using neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin, glutamate, GABA, testosterone, and estrogen, and events influencing these have changed over time.

◐Partially SupportedThe outer hairy part of the Mucuna pruriens bean contains a compound that causes itching and was used to identify skin itch receptors.

◐Partially SupportedThe feeling of being newly in love is associated with heightened energy fueled by dopamine.

◐Partially SupportedThe Gate Theory of Pain suggests that activating larger A-fibers through mechanical pressure can inhibit smaller C-fibers carrying pain signals.

◐Partially SupportedPerception of a wound or event influences pain experience.

◐Partially SupportedSelf-hypnosis protocols can provide relief from chronic pain.

◐Partially SupportedShort-term supplementation with acetyl-L-carnitine showed effects on serum inflammatory markers and matrix metalloproteinases in females with knee osteoarthritis.

◐Partially SupportedThe term 'syndrome' in medicine indicates a lack of understanding of the underlying disease or cause.

◐Partially SupportedSome companies focus on 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF) as a potentially more bioavailable alternative to SAMe.

◐Partially SupportedLaser photobiomodulation is considered experimental in the Western medical community and may gain support if mechanistic data emerges.

◐Partially SupportedPsychogenic fevers have a neurological basis in specific brain areas and circuits like the thalamus and the DMH.

◐Partially SupportedAreas of skin with a high density of receptors are more sensitive to patterns of touch, with the perception modulated by overall levels of arousal.

◐Partially SupportedAcupuncture has a long history and is recognized by Western science for its mechanistic efficacy in treating certain types of pain.

◐Partially SupportedApplying pressure above and below a site of pain can provide relief by influencing nerve pathways.

◐Partially SupportedHypnosis can lead to long-term positive changes in brain activity, particularly in the default network.

✕Not SupportedStimulants and drugs of abuse that increase arousal can become their own form of reinforcement, leading to addiction.

✕Not SupportedRewarding children or oneself for accomplishments can inhibit their ability to perform the same activities that led to the win.

◐Partially SupportedIncreasing endogenous levels of a molecule by taking an upstream precursor, rather than the molecule itself, is a common approach, also seen with growth hormone.

◐Partially SupportedL-carnitine may impact pain and accelerate wound healing.

✕Not SupportedA body temperature of 103°F is worrisome, and 104°F or higher requires immediate cooling.

◐Partially SupportedSpecific neurons in the skin respond to the direction of touch and can evoke pleasure or non-pleasure.

✕Not SupportedDosage regimens and treatment duration for agmatine sulfate require careful consideration based on scientific findings.

◐Partially SupportedA mirror box can be used to treat phantom limb pain by creating the illusion of symmetric limbs.

◐Partially SupportedThe foot's representation in the homunculus map is adjacent to the genitalia, potentially causing merged sensory experiences like phantom foot orgasms.

◐Partially SupportedIn individuals with amputated limbs, the cortical representation of that limb can still exist and elicit the sensation of stimulation.

◐Partially SupportedThe feet, genitalia, lips, and face have the highest sensory innervation density.

◐Partially SupportedThe visual system impacts the experience of pain and pleasure.

◐Partially SupportedPain tolerance is significantly lower at night, particularly between 2:00 AM and 5:00 AM, compared to daylight waking hours.

◐Partially SupportedEntering cold water up to the neck is more comfortable than being halfway in and halfway out due to differential cold receptor signaling.

◐Partially SupportedCold receptors in the skin respond to relative drops in temperature, not the absolute temperature.

◐Partially SupportedTo manage cold exposure, one can either relax and stay calm or actively generate adrenaline.

◐Partially SupportedThe innate pain and pleasure system does not require prior experience, as demonstrated by a child's immediate reaction to pain from a fall or burn.

◐Partially SupportedIt is impossible to experience pain when in a deep state of sleep or anesthesia, and difficult to experience pleasure in a very low state of arousal.

◐Partially SupportedThe dorsal root ganglia contain neurons with cell bodies located outside the spinal cord, sending one axon to the skin, muscles, or organs, and another axon to the brainstem.

◐Partially SupportedNeurons in the dorsal root ganglia that extend to the skin and brain are among the largest cells in the human body.

◐Partially SupportedThere are no objective measures for pain; current experimental methods involve tolerating painful stimuli.

◐Partially SupportedRaising tonic levels of dopamine and serotonin allows for greater experience of pleasure.

◐Partially SupportedDopamine is primarily associated with the anticipation and effort required for pleasure, while serotonin is linked to the immediate experience of pleasure.

◐Partially SupportedPain threshold can be increased through safe practices like ice baths by utilizing contextual modulations such as self-talk or distraction.

◐Partially SupportedHypnosis can be a powerful non-drug tool for pain relief and can be combined with drug treatments.

◐Partially SupportedHypnosis can alter pain perception, making painful sensations feel less painful.

◐Partially SupportedHypnosis, supplements, and electroacupuncture can modulate pleasure or pain perception.

◐Partially SupportedDr. David Spiegel has developed self-hypnosis tools that can improve sleep, focus, and motivation.

◐Partially SupportedHypnosis is a tool with clinical and scientific mechanistic data supporting its use.

◐Partially SupportedL-dopa and Mucuna pruriens increase baseline dopamine more than PEA, but raising baseline dopamine reduces the signal-to-noise ratio for future pleasurable experiences.

◐Partially SupportedPlant and herb compounds like Mucuna pruriens can have powerful internal and external effects.

◐Partially SupportedSupplements like Mucuna pruriens, cocaine, and amphetamines cause significant increases in dopamine but not necessarily serotonin.

◐Partially SupportedThe subjective nature of pain and pleasure is significantly influenced by top-down modulation, including anticipation, anxiety, and interpretation.

◐Partially SupportedAbdominal electroacupuncture can activate sympathetic ganglia, releasing adrenaline and neuropeptide Y, with variable inflammatory effects depending on intensity.

◐Partially SupportedItch can lead to inflammation, which can cause pain.

◐Partially SupportedThe body acclimates to a stable temperature, but prolonged exposure to very high temperatures leads to persistent discomfort and a desire to exit.

◐Partially SupportedHerpes simplex 1 virus resides on the fifth cranial nerve and can cause tingling and pain in its dermatome when it flares up.

◐Partially SupportedThe experience of pleasure and pain is always most intense in body regions with dense sensory innervation.

◐Partially SupportedThe MC1R gene is associated with the POMC pathway, which influences pain perception hormones like MSH and beta-endorphin.

◐Partially SupportedNew relationships create very high levels of dopamine, which is likely the mechanistic basis for buffering pain response through obsessive thinking about a partner.

◐Partially SupportedEndogenously released opioids from exercise or childbirth are distinct from those associated with the opioid epidemic.

◐Partially SupportedDNA tests can provide knowledge into the body's mechanisms related to metabolism and hormones.

◐Partially SupportedDopamine is associated with novelty, expectation, motivation, hope, excitement, and can buffer the pain response.

◐Partially SupportedDopamine and serotonin function as common neurochemical currencies for experiences like pleasure.

◐Partially SupportedInterpretation of pain or pleasure can be mistaken, influenced by visual and auditory cues.

◐Partially SupportedImmediately spending a monetary reward may hinder the ability to exert effort for future rewards by potentially hindering dopamine release.

◐Partially SupportedSustained pleasure can be accessed by engaging in behaviors without chemical augmentation.

◐Partially SupportedUnderstanding the pleasure-pain axis involves examining the absolute qualities of pain and pleasure.

◐Partially SupportedListeners can get a 20% discount on Thorne supplements by visiting thorne/u/Huberman.

◐Partially SupportedDopamine levels decrease upon receiving a reward.

◐Partially SupportedThe MC1R gene is responsible for melanin production, influencing hair color, skin pigmentation, and freckles.

◐Partially SupportedA rash or skin pattern with a stark boundary may indicate nerve involvement impacting a dermatome.

◐Partially SupportedThe body can tolerate drops in temperature better than increases in temperature safely.

◐Partially SupportedHeat exposure is best managed by gradually moving into it.

◐Partially SupportedOxytocin is associated with pair bonding and is biochemically co-manufactured with serotonin.

◐Partially SupportedSubjective interpretation of pleasure or pain is influenced by expectation, anxiety, sleep quality, circadian timing, and genetics.