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pain relief

·May 24, 2025·4 min read

Placebo Triggers Brain’s Opioid System to Relieve Pain

Researchers have successfully induced the placebo effect in rats, uncovering the neural mechanisms behind how belief in pain relief can reduce the perception of pain. Using conditioning, rats learned to associate injections with pain relief, and later exhibited reduced pain responses even when injected with saline.

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·May 19, 2025·5 min read

How Therapy Rewires the Brain to Ease Chronic Pain

Chronic pain affects one in five adults, and medication alone doesn’t always offer relief. A new review reveals that psychological treatments—particularly cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)—can reduce pain through measurable changes in the brain. The review of multiple studies found that therapy shifts brain network activity, helping people loosen harmful thought patterns and reduce emotional stress linked to pain.

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·May 17, 2025·4 min read

Tylenol Targets Pain Through Unexpected Endocannabinoid Pathway

A new study reveals that acetaminophen (Tylenol) relieves pain by reducing levels of an endocannabinoid called 2-AG, rather than increasing it as previously thought. This discovery challenges decades-old assumptions about how pain relief works and may open the door to designing safer, more targeted medications.

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·April 4, 2025·5 min read

Female Hormones Trigger Pain Relief via Immune Cells

Scientists have discovered that female hormones like estrogen and progesterone can trigger immune cells near the spinal cord to release natural opioids, easing pain before it reaches the brain. These immune cells, known as T regulatory cells (T-regs), are located in the meninges and produce the painkilling molecule enkephalin in response to hormonal signals.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Pain

·October 19, 2022·4 min read

Pain Relief Without Side Effects and Addiction

Researchers have developed a new substance that activates adrenalin receptors rather than opioid receptors to help relieve chronic pain. The new compounds have similar pain-relieving qualities as opioids but do not appear to induce respiratory depression or addiction.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Pain

·August 3, 2022·4 min read

Perceived Choice in Music Listening Is Linked to Pain Relief

People given the impression they had control over the music they heard experienced more pain relief than those who felt as though they had no control over their music exposure.

This is a cartoon of a woman holding her head in pain and crying

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·May 24, 2022·4 min read

Lidocaine Infusions Help Relieve Pain in Unresponsive Chronic Migraine

An infusion of the local anesthetic Lidocaine may provide relief to patients with chronic migraines that do not respond to other medications.

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·October 3, 2021·7 min read

Psychological Treatment Yields Strong, Lasting Relief for Chronic Pain Sufferers

A four-week course of pain reprocessing therapy (PRT) provided up to 12 months of relief from pain for chronic pain sufferers. Additionally, the psychological treatment program altered brain networks associated with pain processing.

Featured Neurology Open Neuroscience Articles Pain

·June 21, 2021·5 min read

Virtual Reality as Pain Relief

Smartphone-based virtual reality games helped to reduce pain in young children with burns while having their dressing changed, a new study reports.

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·October 4, 2020·4 min read

Pain Relief Caused by SARS-CoV-2 Infection May Help Explain Coronavirus Spread

SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19 suppresses pain. Findings suggest the pain suppression caused by the infection may be responsible for viral spread, as people do not feel as ill as they actually are.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Pain

·August 21, 2019·5 min read

Cannabis flower is an effective mid-level analgesic medication for pain

People who used while dried cannabis flowers or cannabis with higher levels of THC had the greatest analgesic response to pain. Those who used CBD reported lower levels of pain relief.