Pain and the brain

How does reading shape our mind and spirit? Why do novels make us feel more human? In front of a live audience at the Hay Festival of Literature & Arts, Claudia Hammond looks at the science of what reading does to the mind and explores the profound impact it can have on our lives ...  Show more

What would you say is the difference between the mind and the brain? Claudia delves into this complex question after listener Paul got in touch to ask about Near Death Experiences. What can they tell us about the mind, the brain and who we are? Anil Seth, Professor of Cognitive a ...  Show more

More than 20 percent of U.S. adults suffer from some form of chronic pain. For many, effective treatment remains elusive, with medications and even surgeries giving little in the way of relief. But in recent years, psychologists’ research has begun to suggest that at least for so ...  Show more

Pain, as we know, is highly personal. Some can cope with huge amounts, while others reel in agony over a seemingly minor injury. Though you might feel the stab of pain in your stubbed toe or sprained ankle, it is actually processed in the brain.That is where Irene Tracey, Nuffiel ...  Show more

This week’s conversation is with Dr. Rachel Zoffness, a medical educator and disruptor who is revolutionizing the way we understand and treat pain. 

By trade, Rachel is a trained pain psychologist, a Visiting Professor at Stanford, an Assistant Clin ...

Pain researchers have a joke that when someone is asked to rate their pain from 1 to 10, the most common response is 11. Dr. Jeffrey Mogil, a neuroscientist and pain researcher interested in how genetics, social factors and sex differences affect pain, believes this joke to be ba ...  Show more