Rachel Zoffness (on pain)

Episode overview

Rachel Zoffness (Tell Me Where It Hurts: The New Science of Pain and How to Heal) is a psychologist, pain scientist, and author. Rachel joins the Armchair Expert to discuss why she was drawn to pain in her early neuroscience studies, the most pressing question regarding pain being made in the brain, and how a pain psychologist is like a used car salesman. Rachel and Dax talk about the biopsychosocial factors that contribute to pain, definitive psychological origins of phantom limb syndrome, and the sensory map on our brain called the cortical homunculus. Rachel explains the tale of two nails, compelling evidence that pain and physical damage are not the same, and why data we give the brain that amplifies danger will also amplify pain.

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Short transcript highlights

These brief excerpts are navigation aids selected from different points in the transcript.

1. 0:00Hi. It's such a pleasure to meet you. Are you a hugger? Yes. Let's do it.
2. 46:16stone and not something else?" And she immediately thought to herself, "Shit, I
3. 1:32:44having Thanks to you both. I really appreciate it. Thank you.