Neuroscientist and pain researcher Fadel Zeidan discusses mindfulness and its effects on physical pain relief. He explores topics such as bringing mindfulness to special education, understanding the brain during pain, using 'fake meditation' in research, the role of our natural opiate system, studying psychedelics for pain, and compassion meditation. He also delves into the opioid crisis and the role of contemplation in society.
Mindfulness practices can effectively relieve physical pain through different physiological mechanisms than other interventions like placebo or relaxation.
Mindfulness training has been found to reduce pain intensity and unpleasantness, while also engaging the body's endogenous opioid system.
Mindfulness practices extend beyond pain relief and can also impact emotional pain and societal suffering, promoting compassion, empathy, and emotional healing.
Deep dives
Pain is Contagious and Transformative
Pain, whether physical or emotional, can affect not only the individual experiencing it but also those around them. Just as suffering can spread, so can the positive impact of healing and compassion. Neuroscience research has shown that mindfulness practices can effectively relieve physical pain through different physiological mechanisms than other interventions like placebo or relaxation. Furthermore, these practices can extend to addressing complex psychological suffering and promote compassion, empathy, and emotional healing. Mindfulness training has been found to reduce pain intensity and unpleasantness, while also engaging the body's endogenous opioid system. By understanding these mechanisms and integrating mindfulness into various contexts, it becomes possible to offer accessible and effective resources for individuals experiencing pain.
From Self-Identity to Mindfulness Research
The neuroscientist and pain researcher, Fadel Zeidan, shares his personal journey and how he became interested in contemplative practices and their application in understanding the self and pain. Growing up as an immigrant with a unique background and grappling with questions of self-identity, Fadel discovered mindfulness through various channels. From a video featuring John Kabat-Zinn to his own experiences and academic pursuits, he developed a fascination with the ability of meditation practices to be studied as a science and impact physical and mental well-being. With the advent of functional MRI and understanding neurobiological manifestations, Fadel found an opportunity to bridge philosophy, consciousness, and pain research using rigorous scientific methods.
Mindfulness and Pain Relief
Mindfulness has been shown to be effective in reducing pain symptoms, desirable for chronic pain patients, and distinct from other interventions like distraction, placebo, or relaxation. Through studies using sham meditation as a control, it was revealed that mindfulness produces pain relief that is not mediated by the body's endogenous opioid system, which is typically activated in the placebo response. Instead, mindfulness engages different physiological mechanisms, potentially involving the serotonergic, endocannabinoid, and dopamine systems. Further research is ongoing to explore the specific pathways and neurotransmitters involved in mindfulness-induced pain relief.
Mindfulness, Compassion, and Pain
Mindfulness practices extend beyond pain relief and can also impact emotional pain and societal suffering. Research shows that compassion-focused interventions and mindful self-compassion training can increase empathy and promote emotional healing, both in individuals experiencing personal loss and in those directly affected by societal issues like gun violence. Moreover, studies indicate that training in compassion can enhance feelings of connectedness toward loved ones and strangers alike. Integrative approaches that combine mindfulness with other modalities, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy and positive reappraisal, have shown promise in addressing addiction and chronic pain, highlighting the potential of multimodal therapies in treating complex conditions.
Mindfulness in Opiate Misuse and the Opiate Crisis
Given the opiate crisis in the United States, the role of mindfulness in addressing pain and opiate misuse becomes significant. Mindfulness interventions have demonstrated potential in reducing opiate use and facilitating chronic pain management without relying on opioids. Research suggests that mindfulness may be particularly effective in mitigating pain symptoms, reducing opiate use, and promoting overall well-being. Ongoing studies are exploring the efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions, including multimodal approaches, as alternative treatments for chronic pain and addiction, contributing to efforts to address the opiate crisis.
In this episode, Wendy speaks with neuroscientist and pain researcher Fadel Zeidan. Fadel is one of the leading experts on understanding how mindfulness and other contemplative practices can be used to help relieve physical pain and promote well-being. This conversation covers many topics, including:
his interest in self, consciousness, mindfulness and the brain;
bringing mindfulness to special education classrooms;
historical use of mindfulness for pain;
intensity vs. unpleasantness of pain;
his early work showing that mindfulness induces pain relief;
making mindfulness training more accessible;
looking into the brain during pain;
using "fake meditation" in research;
understanding our natural opiate system and its role in pain relief;
bringing rigor to research with placebo controls;
the relationship of physical pain to more complex psychological pain;
working with families of children who were killed by gun violence;
studying psychedelics for phantom limb pain;
role of the default mode network in pain and self;
compassion meditation and increasing our connection to strangers;
