Scientists from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) have discovered that meditation reduces pain not just through the placebo effect but by actually altering how the brain perceives pain. The study was published in Biological Psychiatry.
Meditation, a practice where individuals observe their thoughts and emotions without judgment, has roots in Buddhist and Hindu traditions but is increasingly studied for its health benefits.
Stay Informed on the Unexplained
Every Friday we send out the top 5 most intriguing UFO & paranormal stories—direct to your inbox.
Subscribe to the NewsletterIn this study, researchers aimed to understand how meditation influences pain perception. They recruited 115 healthy participants, dividing them into four groups: one group practiced meditation, another did sham meditation (deep breathing), a third used a placebo cream, and a fourth listened to an audiobook as a control.
Participants were exposed to painful heat on their legs, with brain activity scanned via MRI before and after the procedure.
Results showed meditation reduced pain by altering brain responses to the painful stimulus, affecting three key aspects: intensity (nociception-specific pain signature, NPS), emotional response (negative affective pain signature, NAP), and psychosocial factors (stimulus-independent pain signature, SIIPS-1).
In contrast, the placebo cream only influenced psychosocial factors, highlighting the different mechanisms of meditation and the placebo effect.
“Our findings show meditation genuinely changes how pain is processed in the brain, not just through a placebo effect,” said lead author Fadel Zeidan, an anesthesiologist. “This could lead to new treatments for chronic pain, offering relief to millions.”
Researchers hope to further explore meditation’s potential for use in clinical medicine.
