The Science Behind the Symptoms with Howard Schubiner, MD & Rebecca Kennedy, MD

In this episode, Becca Kennedy, MD, and Howard Schubiner, MD, discuss how belief can trigger real physiological changes via the placebo effect. They unpack the neuroscience of expectation, the brain’s role in symptoms, and how this understanding can transform the way we think about pain, chronic illness, and the healing process.🛜 Visit our website www.symptomatic.me🧑‍💻 Experiencing chronic pain or illness?Learn more from the 12-Question Self Assessment. https://www.symptomatic.me/quiz🧠 Knowledge becomes healingExplore common conditions: https://www.symptomatic.me/commonconditions📚 Start your recoveryFree public resources: https://www.symptomatic.me/treatment-plan🧑‍⚕️ For practitioners and studentsClinical tools and guidance: https://www.symptomatic.me/learningprogram🎤 Share your storyBe featured on the podcast: https://form.jotform.com/243224080632043👩🏻‍🏫 Advantages of Membership in theATNS Community: https://www.symptomatic.me/membership💵 Support the missionDonate to expand awareness: https://givebutter.com/XJtTyC💡About ATNSThe Association for the Treatment of Neuroplastic Symptoms is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit advancing the science of chronic pain and illness. Led by volunteer clinicians, researchers, and advocates, ATNS provides education, tools, and support for the diagnosis and treatment of neuroplastic conditions. We bridge research with real-world care—helping people reclaim their lives.

🛜 Visit our website www.symptomatic.me🧑‍💻 Experiencing chronic pain or illness?Learn more from the 12-Question Self Assessment. https://www.symptomatic.me/quiz🧠 Knowledge becomes healingExplore common conditions: https://www.symptomatic.me/commonconditions📚 Start your recoveryFree public resources: https://www.symptomatic.me/treatment-plan🧑‍⚕️ For practitioners and studentsClinical tools and guidance: https://www.symptomatic.me/learningprogram🎤 Share your storyBe featured on the podcast: https://form.jotform.com/243224080632043👩🏻‍🏫 Advantages of Membership in theATNS Community: https://www.symptomatic.me/membership💵 Support the missionDonate to expand awareness: https://givebutter.com/XJtTyC💡About ATNSThe Association for the Treatment of Neuroplastic Symptoms is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit advancing the science of chronic pain and illness. Led by volunteer clinicians, researchers, and advocates, ATNS provides education, tools, and support for the diagnosis and treatment of neuroplastic conditions. We bridge research with real-world care—helping people reclaim their lives.

Becca Kennedy MD and Howard Schubiner MD discuss the role that the brain can play in our everyday life. Do we see with our eyes or with our brain? Do we hear with our ears? Can pain be caused by the brain in the absence of tissue injury? Find these answers in The Science Behind the Symptoms.Books and Articles:Barrett, Lisa Feldman. How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain. Mariner Books, 2017.Barrett, Lisa Feldman. “Why Your Brain Creates Trauma”. Big Think, YouTube, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ewfP4BC7RA.Barrett, Lisa Feldman, and W. Kyle Simmons. “Interoceptive Predictions in the Brain.” Nature Reviews Neuroscience 16, no. 7 (2015): 7. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3950.Botvinick, Matthew, and Jonathan Cohen. “Rubber Hands ‘feel’ Touch That Eyes See.” Nature 391, no. 6669 (1998): 756. https://doi.org/10.1038/35784.Clark, Andy. The Experience Machine: How Our Minds Predict and Shape Reality. Pantheon, 2023.Eagleman, David. Livewired: The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing Brain. Pantheon, 2020.Robson, David. The Expectation Effect: How Your Mindset Can Change Your World. Reprint edition. Holt Paperbacks, 2023.Van den Bergh, Omer, Michael Witthöft, Sibylle Petersen, and Richard J. Brown. “Symptoms and the Body: Taking the Inferential Leap.” Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 74 (2017): 185–203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.01.015.Willman, Justin. Magic for Humans: The Rubber Hand Illusion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdxlT68ygt8🛜 Visit our website www.symptomatic.me🧑‍💻 Experiencing chronic pain or illness?Learn more from the 12-Question Self Assessment. https://www.symptomatic.me/quiz🧠 Knowledge becomes healingExplore common conditions: https://www.symptomatic.me/commonconditions📚 Start your recoveryFree public resources: https://www.symptomatic.me/treatment-plan🧑‍⚕️ For practitioners and studentsClinical tools and guidance: https://www.symptomatic.me/learningprogram🎤 Share your storyBe featured on the podcast: https://form.jotform.com/243224080632043👩🏻‍🏫 Advantages of Membership in theATNS Community: https://www.symptomatic.me/membership💵 Support the missionDonate to expand awareness: https://givebutter.com/XJtTyC💡About ATNSThe Association for the Treatment of Neuroplastic Symptoms is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit advancing the science of chronic pain and illness. Led by volunteer clinicians, researchers, and advocates, ATNS provides education, tools, and support for the diagnosis and treatment of neuroplastic conditions. We bridge research with real-world care—helping people reclaim their lives.