This episode I discuss our sense of pain and pleasure: where and how they each arise in our mind and body and various ways to control their intensity. I discuss the science of behavioral tools like acupuncture and hypnosis and directed pressure, including the neural circuits they each activate to modulate our experience of pain or pleasure. I also discuss whole body pain, pain "syndromes" and novel pain relief compounds such as Acetyl-L-Carnitine, SAMe and Agmatine. I discuss neuroplasticity of the pain system and the key role that visual perception plays in pain modulation. Finally, I address the link between dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin, with arousal, pleasure and pain. As always, both basic science and various protocols are described. Note: The description of the dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) was intentionally simplified and does not include mention of dorsal horn spinal relay neurons, etc.. For an excellent full text review of this anatomy and circuits for touch sensing, please see: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3811145/ #hubermanlab #pain #pleasure #dopamine #motivation Thank you to our sponsors: InsideTracker - https://www.insidetracker.com/huberman Helix Sleep - https://www.helixsleep.com/huberman Athletic Greens - https://www.athleticgreens.com/huberman Our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/andrewhuberman Supplements from Thorne: http://www.thorne.com/u/huberman Social: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/hubermanlab Twitter - https://twitter.com/hubermanlab Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/hubermanlab Website - https://hubermanlab.com Join the Neural Network - https://hubermanlab.com/neural-network Links: Instagram discussion with Dr. Sean Mackey, MD, PhD - https://www.instagram.com/p/CMVq0X8Bk1D/ Agmatine study - https://bit.ly/3CtTwRn Mechanistic basis of acupuncture - https://bit.ly/2VHi0pz Please note that The Huberman Lab Podcast is distinct from Dr. Huberman's teaching and research roles at Stanford University School of Medicine. The information provided in this show is not medical advice, nor should it be taken or applied as a replacement for medical advice. The Huberman Lab Podcast, its employees, guests and affiliates assume no liability for the application of the information discussed. Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac - https://www.blabacphoto.com