2025 was a big year for the female brain — and on this episode of Wellness Big Sis the Pod, Dr. Kelsy Vick breaks down the most impactful neuroscience-backed lessons we covered this year.

From the truth behind Lucky Girl Syndrome to how motivation and discipline fluctuate across the menstrual cycle, this episode connects the dots between hormones, dopamine, goal-setting, gratitude, friendships, and pain. We revisit why consistency is easier when goals are tied to identity, how gratitude reshapes the brain, why female friendships affect health differently than male friendships, and why pain is better understood as a brain output rather than a body input.

If you’re heading into the New Year wanting to understand your brain, your cycle, and your goals on a deeper level — this episode brings it all together.

All referenced episodes are linked below.

87:: The neuroscience of pain https://wellness-big-sis-the-pod.captivate.fm/episode/copy-of-pod-83-pain/

85:: The science of gratitude https://wellness-big-sis-the-pod.captivate.fm/episode/85-the-science-of-gratitude-using-gratitude-to-rewire-your-brain/

84:: The neuroscience behind Lucky Girl Syndrome https://wellness-big-sis-the-pod.captivate.fm/episode/copy-of-img-3569/

82:: Female Friendships https://wellness-big-sis-the-pod.captivate.fm/episode/pod-82/ 

80:: Consistency & Goal-Setting  https://wellness-big-sis-the-pod.captivate.fm/episode/80-/ 

79:: Motivation & Discipline https://wellness-big-sis-the-pod.captivate.fm/episode/copy-of-pod-79-motivation-and-discipline/ 

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00:00- 00:17 Intro

00:18- 00:34 Introduction and Overview of 2025

00:35- 01:14 Exploring Lucky Girl Syndrome

01:15- 02:25 The Reticular Activating System: Your Brain's Filter

02:26- 04:00 Neuroscience Behind Affirmations and Action

04:01- 05:00 Female Brain and Motivation Across Cycles

05:01- 09:29 Discipline and the Prefrontal Cortex

09:30- 12:18 Maximizing Motivation and Discipline

12:19- 18:56 Consistency and Goal Setting

18:57- 22:50 The Science of Gratitude

22:51- 25:15 Female Friendships and Health

25:16- 31:56 Understanding Pain as an Output

31:57- 32:41 Conclusion and Wrap-Up

2025 has been quite the year.

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We've covered so many cool things.

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It was hard for me to choose some

of our top moments, but let's take

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a look back on 2025 and the episodes

where we covered the female brain.

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Welcome back to Wellness Big Sis the Pod.

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I'm your host, Dr.

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Kelsey Vic, a board

certified orthopedic Dr.

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Physical Therapy, and a pelvic

floor physical therapist.

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And one of my top favorite moments,

and one that has really actually

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changed how I am going to approach

different goals and really manifestation

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tactics in the new year was our

episode on Lucky Girl Syndrome and the

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neuroscience behind Lucky Girl Syndrome.

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What's fact?

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What's fiction?

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We took a deep dive into the research

and learned all there is to know about.

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The truth behind Lucky Girl Syndrome

and how to apply the neuroscience behind

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Lucky Girl syndrome into our own lives.

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Speaking of the brain, let's talk

about a very key component in

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Lucky Girl syndrome and in just

filtering out certain information

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that we're presented with every day.

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Let's talk about the reticular activating

system, which is like your brain's filter.

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So it's a network of nerve pathways

in the brainstem, and it acts As your

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brain's gatekeeper for information.

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So we are presented with so much

information throughout the day and moment

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by moment, even the temperature, even

little particles of air that pass over us.

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We are presented with all of that

information and the reticular activating

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system helps us decide what to focus on.

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So when you affirm that I'm lucky or good

things happen to me, or opportunities

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come my way, the RAS actually activates

your brain starts scanning for

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evidence that confirms this belief.

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You notice opportunities, connections,

and positive moments that you might have.

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Previously filtered out.

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So there's a power in this.

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You do actually notice more

opportunities and more good things

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that come your way when your RAS is

queued for this lucky girl syndrome.

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However, there's also a little bit

of a pitfall in that it can also

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selectively filter out opposing

views to that Lucky Girl syndrome.

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So it's this selective attention.

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Where you notice more

opportunities and are ignoring

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any threats that go against that.

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I am lucky.

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Good opportunities come my way.

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Affirmations.

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So the bottom line, here's

what we know from neuroscience

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about Lucky Girl syndrome.

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Your thoughts literally

change your brain structure.

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Positive affirmations activate reward

centers and can shift attention.

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So I'm a lucky girl can work if

you understand it as I'm going to

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intentionally notice the opportunities

that can help me create my own luck

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through the actions that I'm going

to perform, but it won't work.

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If it means I'll sit back and

good things will come to me.

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It has to have action.

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The most powerful version of Lucky Girl

Syndrome combines positive affirmations,

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positive mindset with action.

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So you can train your brain to be more

resilient, motivated, and opportunity

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conscious through activating certain brain

regions that make you more goal-driven,

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more pursuit driven, more reward driven,

and also alerting certain parts of your

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brain, the filter of your brain to see

different opportunities, but also realize

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that with some of that optimism comes a

little bit of a dampening of some of the.

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Bad news or contradictory evidence

that we might get presented with.

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And always remember that mindset

needs to be followed by action.

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It's not mindset alone.

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Speaker 3: If you missed that episode,

it was episode 84, but some of the key

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components we covered and the truth behind

Lucky Girl syndrome that we covered was

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the fact that you can actually shift

your brain and shift your focus to

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notice more goals and more opportunities.

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That's true.

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However, you always have to

follow that shift in focus with.

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It is not just magical.

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It can't just be wishful thinking

and good things come your way,

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or lucky things come your way.

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You have to actually follow

that shift in focus, that shift

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in opportunity with action.

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Another popular episode this year,

and one of my favorites was episode

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79, where we covered how the female

brain uses motivation and discipline

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throughout different parts of our cycles.

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So let's start with motivation.

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Estrogen starts low and rises

throughout our follicular phase.

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So if estrogen amplifies dopamine,

we expect dopamine, and therefore our

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motivation levels to also increase

steadily throughout that follicular

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phase, which is that days one through

14 ish during the ovulation phase.

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That is our peak reward system

activities, imaging studies have also

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shown that our brains light up more and.

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To rewards during this phase.

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And then lastly, our luteal phase

as estrogen drops in our luteal

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phase, so do our levels of dopamine.

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We expect decreased motivation,

requiring more effort to feel

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rewarded during this phase.

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So overall, in this luteal phase,

we expect to be a little bit less

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driven and less enthusiastic overall

about pursuit of any sort of goals.

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So that's the motivation

side of the equation.

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Let's look a little bit into the

discipline side of the equation.

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Discipline is a top down approach, and

anytime we talk about top down or bottom

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up, when we're talking about neuroscience,

we really are talking about the central

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nervous system, primarily the brain's

executive control over all of the

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different processes that happen below.

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So when our dopamine's low, our prefrontal

cortex can actually override it and

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say, oh, I know you probably have

low motivation right now given your

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dopamine levels are a little bit lower,

but we have to complete this task.

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That's where that top-down

approach comes in.

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That's where the command center, the

CEO really has to step in and say,

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I know you might not feel motivated,

but you have to be disciplined

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in order to accomplish this task.

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So the prefrontal cortex sends brain

signals down the pathway to help regulate

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other brain regions to produce the action

that we want, or really that it wants.

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Since what we want might differ from

what our prefrontal cortex wants or

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knows that we want long term, but

we might not want in the short term.

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So we can actually override

our brain's impulses and

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signals when motivation is low.

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The discipline headquarters in the

dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex, which.

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It's just fancy terms for the

location in the prefrontal cortex.

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So you can think of the prefrontal

cortex as just that command center,

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that CEO, and there's a lot of different

regions within that prefrontal cortex

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that are involved in discipline.

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All of these fancy terms make

it sound more complex, but just

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think of it as the command center.

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So the discipline headquarters are in

the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex,

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and that's a specific area within

that command center, that CEO, that

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structure that can help us override

some other signals that we're getting.

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So the discipline headquarters have.

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A few jobs, one of 'em

involving working memory.

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So it allows us to hold our goals in mind.

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When motivation is low, it

allows us to switch strategies.

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So executive planning, if plan

A is not working, it allows us

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to switch strategies to plan B.

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It offers inhibitory control, so

stopping yourself from doing something

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you know you shouldn't be doing,

and it creates structure so it's

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involved in planning and organizing.

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So it helps to create that structure,

especially when you don't feel like it.

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Okay, so another part of the

prefrontal cortex, the ventral medial

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part evaluates short-term pleasure

versus long-term consequences.

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So this is where we might be a little

bit more tired or just low motivation

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working on a certain project.

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This is the area that sort of evaluates

is this short-term want or desire going

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to help me reach my long term goals.

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So it's cues us to say, Hey.

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That rest or that nap might not actually

help you reach the goal that you have in

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mind of finishing this project and getting

it back to school or your boss or whatever

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deadline you have set for yourself.

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So it's evaluates that short-term

pleasure versus that long-term

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goal you have for yourself.

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And lastly, when it comes to discipline,

the brain has an alarm system, the

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anterior cingulate cortex, if you care

about location or names of things, but

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it's basically the alarm system, and it

sends an alarm when what you are driven

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or not driven to do, as determined by

dopamine, is in conflict with what you

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should do as determined by your goals.

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So after that evaluation process,

if there is this disconnect, this

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alarm system kicks in to say, Hey.

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This is not going to help

you reach those goals.

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Let's reevaluate the situation.

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So the alarm system sounds, send

signals back to the command center

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to say, we need you to step in here

with a little bit of discipline.

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So let's talk about it in practice

a little bit just to get a more

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well-rounded picture of how

discipline works within our cycle.

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So let's say you're in your

luteal phase, dopamine is low,

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you're feeling low motivation,

but you have a big project due.

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The anterior cingulate cortex

senses this disconnect.

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So it's the alarm system.

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It alerts the CEO or the command center.

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The prefrontal cortex.

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The prefrontal cortex sends inhibitory

signals to stop avoidance behaviors.

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So you're trying to avoid that project.

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This prefrontal cortex, the CEO,

the command center overrides that to

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inhibit some of those lazier things

that we might wanna do when we have

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lower dopamine and lower motivation.

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The prefrontal cortex also continues

to keep the long-term goal recognition

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part of the brain online to remind

you like, Hey, remember this goal

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you have for yourself or this

goal that you wanna accomplish.

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Remember that this current momentary want

or desire that you have is short-term,

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where that is your long term goal.

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And then lastly, the brain overrides

low motivation and relies on

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discipline to accomplish the task.

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So how can we maximize both motivation

and discipline throughout our menstrual

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cycles as women in the high estrogen

phase, the late follicular to ovulation,

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to a little bit of early luteal?

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We can approach opportunities.

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We can create a structure

to rely on later when.

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Motivation's low.

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Sometimes creating that good solid

structure to be more disciplined

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with later on can really help.

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We can take on new creative and

challenging projects, and when dopamine

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is high, let motivation lead, but also

use discipline to narrow our focus.

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Build habits and prevent impulsive

decisions in those lower estrogen

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phases of our cycle, we can

rely more heavily on discipline.

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Understand it might take

more of that top-down effort.

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So if you're having trouble

overcoming that barrier to start

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that task or to finish that task,

just give yourself a little bit of

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grace knowing that your brain is

actually trying to work through that.

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We're trying to.

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Get that command center on board to

override some of those impulses that

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we have to maybe be a little bit

more lazy or lean into some of those

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desires that we want, that might not

help us reach those long-term goals.

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So it's a way to just give yourself

a little bit of grace too by knowing

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how your brain's working and how your

hormonal physiology is working as a woman.

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In those lower estrogen phases, you

can also let discipline lead and use

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small strategies to increase motivation.

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So breaking up large goals

into small attainable goals.

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That way when you accomplish a

goal, you accomplish a task that

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dopamine's gonna elevate anyways.

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So that's that bottom up approach.

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You're doing a behavior that is naturally

going to elevate dopamine no matter if

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you're in that lower estrogen phase.

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You can also exercise and you might

have to lean more on extrinsic rewards

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or external rewards in order to

feel more motivated during a certain

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task in this lower estrogen phases.

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So again, that early follicular

phase, that late luteal phase, you can

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focus on current routines rather than

trying to build and maintain new ones.

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That's a follicular

phase Kelsey thing to do.

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Build new routines, set goals, set

reminders, really structure her day

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in the most efficient way possible.

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And then luteal phase, Kelsey is like.

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Oh my gosh, what was I thinking?

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There is no way I can complete all

these tasks in the day, and that's okay.

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If you struggle with this, maybe try

and stick to your current routines

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rather than creating new routines.

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On top of that, you can use external

rewards and structure more and be

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patient with yourself because your

brain's working a little bit differently.

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Speaker 3: Some of the key components,

motivation is high early on in our

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cycles, partially due to the increase

in estrogen, which amplifies dopamine.

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Discipline kicks in during the

latter part of our cycles, and we

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should give ourselves grace if we

notice ourselves having to climb over

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more mental barriers to accomplish

certain goals or tasks during that.

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Phase knowing our brains are trying

to work through their processes

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in order to override our current

pleasures for those long-term

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goals that we have for ourselves.

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Speaking of the female brain and goals,

we also covered the neuroscience of

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consistency and goal setting in podcast

episode 80 and why we find it easier to

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stick to certain goals compared to others.

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Picturing our lives without

that goal or failure of that

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goal really helps us to promote

consistency in pursuit of that goal.

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The stronger that pull is to live

with that goal, the more consistent

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you'll be with accomplishing that goal.

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So taking it back to last week when we

learned that we have an alarm system

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within our brains, that when it senses

a disconnect between our long-term

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goals and what we currently wanna do.

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So it may be short-term

pleasure, so let's say exercise.

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Long-term goals.

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You wanna exercise, you wanna

be someone who exercises.

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You wanna be someone who's able to

move in the best way they can for the

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longest they can, but right now you

really wanna just sit on the couch

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and veg and watch your favorite show.

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That alarm system will sound letting

your brain know that, hey, currently

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she wants to do something that is not

in alignment with her long-term goals.

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Can you use discipline to override?

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Can you use.

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That CEO, that command center, the

prefrontal cortex, to override what

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she really wants to do to remind

her that she does have these longer

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term goals, that what she wants to

do short term is not going to help

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her reach those long-term goals.

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So for me, with movement, there is a

greater pool, there's a greater disconnect

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because for me, movement is not just short

term goals of weight loss, but it's this

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longer term goal, this longer term value.

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This.

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Identity of who I am.

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I am a mover.

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I am someone who values movement

for my whole lifespan, for not only

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myself, but also my family and those

that I love to be able to interact

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with them in the way that I want to

be able to do the things that I want.

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So movement is a part of me.

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Movement is part of my identity, and

because of that, anytime my short

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term wants or desires go against my

long-term goals of being a mover or

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being someone who values movement,

that alarm system will sound.

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And I'll feel a greater

pull to get my butt up.

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Knowing that I view movement and exercise

as sacred and part of my identity.

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So I view movement in

that long-term framework.

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Because of that, my alarm

system will sound super loudly

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to let me know right now.

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Hey, Kelsey, your short-term

desires and pleasures are not lining

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up with those long-term goals.

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So my command center will be queued to

override my desire for those short-term

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pleasures to be able to put into action

things that will help me reach my

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long-term goal of being a mover for life.

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So think about whatever

you're consistent in.

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Is there a deeper emotional pull that

you feel if you picture your life

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without accomplishing that certain task?

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If it is something like, I'm

so good at cleaning the house

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or making my bed something that

seems pretty mundane and ordinary.

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But if you feel better about yourself,

you're someone who values a clean

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house, values a clean home, or.

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You grew up in a home that possibly

wasn't that clean, and because of that,

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you wanna reverse that, where you have

this draw to where you picture your

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home growing up as super cluttered

and you have a deterrent towards that

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home and wanna create a clean home.

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Whatever it is, think about what you're

consistent in and see if one of the

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reasons that you're consistent in it is

because if you picture your life without

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it, you feel this greater emotional

pull towards that long-term goal.

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So let's dive into the fun female

brain sciencey part of it all.

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So we mentioned the anterior cingulate

cortex, which is the part of our

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brain that's that alarm system.

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It weighs our current want tos,

our pleasures with the long-term

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goals that we have for ourselves.

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And if there's a disconnect between those.

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An alarm will sound to help us

override what we wanna do for what

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we have to do or should be doing.

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But what we didn't mention last week

was that alarm signal and that alarm

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sound can have varying ranges of

intensity based on the emotional and

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motivational significance of that goal.

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So how much does this matter to the

person's core motivation and values, their

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self-identity, their long-term goals?

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It starts to integrate all of those things

to decide the intensity of that alarm.

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Then it signals our top-down discipline

pathways that helps to override what

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we want to do and replace it with

actions that we should be doing to

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help us reach those long-term goals.

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The alarm system in the anterior

cingulate cortex is extra activated.

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When your goals involve

protecting, maintaining, or

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improving certain relationships.

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Sense of self or identity.

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I am a mover.

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That is who I am, so that is a sense

of myself, significant loss or failure.

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So disappointing or failing

people you care about.

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A loss of love, status, or security.

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So picturing your life without the goal

that you wanna accomplish is a way to help

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improve consistency towards that goal.

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It basically helps us evaluate

high stakes versus low stakes

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conflicts and our emotional and

motivational attachment towards them.

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So for different actions and goals

people might have different alarm.

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Sounds

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. Now think back again to what you're

consistent at and reflect on why

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is it solidified in your brain?

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Because accomplishing that goal

or task has high significance

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and motivation to you.

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Can you picture your life not

accomplishing that goal or task?

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Do you have a high emotional

response towards that imagery?

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Now, think of something you wanna

become more consistent with, or

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goal that you have for yourself.

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How can you utilize how your brain works

to maximize that alarm system that will

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sound when you veer from the course?

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Can you tie it to your identity?

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I am someone who, versus I am someone

who is trying to, not the same.

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You wanna tie it back to your identity.

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Is there an emotion you'd

like to tie to that goal?

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To create that greater pull, that

greater intensity of that alarm system,

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and finally looking at how it might

disappoint future you or someone

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you love, if you fail to accomplish

that goal or fail to do that task.

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So using neuroscience and our brains in

order to realize why we are consistent

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with certain things and why we aren't

consistent with certain things can help

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us understand who we are as people,

but also help us to navigate different

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goals that we have trouble sticking to.

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Speaker 3: This one was one of my

absolute favorite episodes and will be

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hugely important as we start to look

at goal setting into the new year.

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So some of the key components we

found during that episode in order to

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be consistent with certain goals, it

helps to have a large emotional pull to

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that goal or to failure of that goal.

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It helps if we can tie that goal to

a piece of our identity and who we

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are and the intensity of the alarm.

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That sounds, when we perform actions

that are against or contradictory to

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that goal depends on how significant.

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That goal is to us that emotional

pull or how tied it is to

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our identity and who we are

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Every year around Thanksgiving,

I do an episode on gratitude.

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So I love chatting about gratitude

and the neuroscience behind

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gratitude and a gratitude practice.

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We always cover some of the

landmark studies of gratitude,

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but this year we also added some

additional new research on gratitude.

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So when we talk about the science

of gratitude and how our bodies

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benefit from gratitude, let's

start with the brain changes that

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actually occur with gratitude.

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So with a normal gratitude practice,

we have increased dopamine release

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within our brains, which leads to

an increased activation of that

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motivation and reward system.

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We have increased serotonin levels,

so an improved emotional stability

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and wellbeing, oxytocin activation,

so stronger social connections

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and reduced social stress.

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FMRI.

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Studies have also shown activation

in brain areas involved in judgment,

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empathy, decision making, emotional

processing, and stress regulation.

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So these changes last for a long time,

even after a gratitude intervention.

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So there are a lot of brain changes

that happen with gratitude that are

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all really positive and positively

affect us personally, but also

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socially with others as well.

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How can gratitude affect

our inflammation and stress?

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With gratitude, we have

cortisol reduction.

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So irregular gratitude practice can

reduce cortisol levels by up to 23%.

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Our cardiovascular system and

primarily disease associated with a

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cardiovascular system can be positively

affected by gratitude, so other

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cardiovascular effects and benefits

that we get from a gratitude practice.

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We have improved heart rate variability

with a gratitude practice, which

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heart rate variability sounds

like a cardiovascular measure, but

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it really is that measure of how

resilient our nervous system is, how

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easily it is able to flip between.

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Sympathetic fight or flight response and

that parasympathetic rest digest response.

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So improving our heart rate

variability with gratitude is obviously

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amazing, and it also indicates some

nervous system benefits as well.

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We have improved blood pressure and

health of the actual lining of our

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vasculature with a gratitude practice.

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And irregular gratitude practice also

leads to better autonomic nervous

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system balance through activation

of that parasympathetic, that rest

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digest part of our nervous system.

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So when we look at gratitude and

its effects on sleep, specifically,

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grateful individuals fall asleep

faster and stay asleep longer.

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They have improved perception of sleep

quality, improved energy, and they're

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thinking that gratitude can actually

help in the treatment of insomnia.

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When it comes to biological and sex

differences between how men and women

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both respond to gratitude, women have

a higher baseline level of gratitude,

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so a 2024 study analyzed almost 50,000

female nurses and found those with the

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highest gratitude scores, had 9% lower

all cause mortality over four years.

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A 15% decreased risk of

cardiovascular disease deaths.

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So it's super cool that, of course,

gratitude seems to be a mental activity,

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but it is very clear that gratitude

practices also affect the rest of our

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bodies, the physical side of our health

and wellness, whether that's through

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the brain and and having different

processes mediated through the brain,

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or whether it has direct effects

on things like our cardiovascular

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system and our immune system.

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Lastly, a 2023 systematic

review and meta-analysis.

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Found that people who performed

various gratitude interventions had

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significantly reduced anxiety and

depression, enhanced positive emotions

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00:22:01,387 --> 00:22:06,457

and life satisfaction, greater optimism

and appreciation, increased pro-social

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behaviors, which those are the behaviors

where we are intentionally going

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out of our way to benefit others.

410

00:22:11,857 --> 00:22:15,457

They had less psychological pain

and worry, improved therapeutic

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00:22:15,457 --> 00:22:18,367

outcomes and those being treated

for anxiety and depression.

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So I feel like that one wraps it

all up, that gratitude practices are

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wonderful for us no matter if it's

gratitude, experiencing gratitude,

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awareness, or gratitude giving,

all of them are beneficial to us.

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Speaker 3: This year around

that Thanksgiving timeframe.

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I also wanted to look into how female

friendships are different than male

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00:22:37,221 --> 00:22:40,401

friendships or relationships, and

how females benefit from friendship

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differently than men in regards to

overall health and brain changes.

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Speaker: So for female specific, a

woman's health generally benefits more

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from quality relationships compared

to a man's health, but it is also more

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negatively impacted by social isolation.

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So on either sides of the extreme,

we benefit more from quality

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relationships, but we're also more

negatively impacted by social isolation.

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Women are better at providing

social support, relying on social

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support, and disclosing important

parts of their stories, which helps

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to build that social connection.

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So all of these are of course,

associated with friendship.

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High quality female friendships

specifically lead to lower blood pressure,

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reduced cardiovascular disease, and a 60%

lower chance of premature death quality.

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Female friendships can also help lower

cortisol levels in women who regularly

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engage with their close friends.

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Dr.

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00:23:31,666 --> 00:23:35,701

Taylor out of UCLA, who's one of the

primary researchers in this field, found

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that when faced with external stress,

women gravitate towards each other to

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help cope while also taking care of

others to help cope with that stress.

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So she called this way of handling stress,

the 10 and befriend theory, or the 10 and

437

00:23:49,711 --> 00:23:53,251

befriend way of handling stress versus

the fight or flight response that we're

438

00:23:53,251 --> 00:23:57,481

all very familiar with, where women

naturally want to take care of others,

439

00:23:57,481 --> 00:24:01,261

and we also want to befriend others

when faced with that external stress.

440

00:24:01,921 --> 00:24:06,301

Which I thought was interesting because

I do feel like women in general are

441

00:24:06,301 --> 00:24:12,841

more open with each other, more willing

to ask for guidance or help or sort

442

00:24:12,841 --> 00:24:18,001

of bond over challenges, which can be

that befriend part of the equation.

443

00:24:18,331 --> 00:24:21,511

But I hadn't really ever thought about

the tend part of the equation where

444

00:24:21,721 --> 00:24:25,981

we, when faced with stress of any

kind, we want to start to take care of

445

00:24:25,981 --> 00:24:27,451

others, which I feel like is a real.

446

00:24:27,871 --> 00:24:32,281

Special thing about being a woman, I guess

that when faced with stress our, one of

447

00:24:32,281 --> 00:24:36,061

our immediate reactions is not to fight

or flight, but possibly to take care of

448

00:24:36,061 --> 00:24:37,276

others, which I think is really beautiful.

449

00:24:38,176 --> 00:24:38,686

So Dr.

450

00:24:38,686 --> 00:24:42,136

Taylor says this whole process

of tendon befriend is mediated by

451

00:24:42,136 --> 00:24:46,096

oxytocin release, which in turn

can help lower our cortisol levels.

452

00:24:46,640 --> 00:24:49,280

Speaker 3: It was fascinating to see

the science of how we benefit from

453

00:24:49,280 --> 00:24:52,430

friendships differently than men and

understand a new theory of how we

454

00:24:52,430 --> 00:24:56,300

approach stressful and challenging

circumstances due to the differences in

455

00:24:56,300 --> 00:24:58,850

how we as females experience friendship.

456

00:24:59,373 --> 00:25:03,568

Lastly, one of our most recent episodes,

episode 87, we chat the neuroscience

457

00:25:03,568 --> 00:25:06,873

behind pain and how we should think of

pain as an output rather than an input.

458

00:25:07,372 --> 00:25:11,182

Speaker 2: People associate the pain

they feel in a certain region with

459

00:25:11,182 --> 00:25:14,332

physical damage of the structures

in that region or the structures

460

00:25:14,332 --> 00:25:15,922

that actually supply that region.

461

00:25:16,402 --> 00:25:17,602

And this can definitely be the case.

462

00:25:17,602 --> 00:25:21,682

If you sprain your ankle or there is some

sort of physical damage to your ankle

463

00:25:21,682 --> 00:25:27,262

or a broken bone, you are going to feel

pain because structures in that area.

464

00:25:27,577 --> 00:25:31,267

Are sending danger signals to the

brain, and the brain is integrating

465

00:25:31,267 --> 00:25:33,517

a lot of different signals to

create that output of pain.

466

00:25:33,517 --> 00:25:37,417

So there is some correlation,

but it's not always the case.

467

00:25:37,597 --> 00:25:42,547

There are more complex networks

involved in how our brain eventually

468

00:25:42,547 --> 00:25:43,512

tells us that we're in danger.

469

00:25:44,062 --> 00:25:47,422

If the brain has to integrate a whole

lot of inputs, not only the physical

470

00:25:47,422 --> 00:25:51,862

damage from the structures, if that's

the case, but also our cultural beliefs,

471

00:25:51,892 --> 00:25:57,172

our past experiences, our visual inputs,

it's constantly integrating a lot of

472

00:25:57,172 --> 00:26:03,172

different inputs in order to create that

output that tells us that we are in pain.

473

00:26:03,742 --> 00:26:06,742

So one of my favorite examples to

talk about this phenomenon is actually

474

00:26:06,772 --> 00:26:08,812

a researcher out of Australia, Dr.

475

00:26:08,812 --> 00:26:12,742

Laura Moseley, and he is one of the

top researchers in this field of pain

476

00:26:12,742 --> 00:26:17,572

science, and he has such a wonderful

way of explaining pain to where people

477

00:26:17,572 --> 00:26:20,752

can really understand what their body

is going through, what their brain

478

00:26:20,752 --> 00:26:25,042

is going through, and how the two mix

together to create this responsive pain.

479

00:26:25,702 --> 00:26:29,392

One of the stories he utilizes that I

feel like is a perfect example, and I

480

00:26:29,392 --> 00:26:32,872

might paraphrase it a little bit, but

there's one day where he's walking to

481

00:26:32,872 --> 00:26:35,812

the river, maybe with his friends, and

he's out of Australia, so you can only

482

00:26:35,812 --> 00:26:41,962

imagine the terrain that he's going

through, but his leg ends up touching a

483

00:26:41,962 --> 00:26:44,062

blade of grass or a shrub of some sort.

484

00:26:44,062 --> 00:26:46,612

Ends up rubbing against his

leg and he kicks it off and

485

00:26:46,612 --> 00:26:47,932

continues walking to the river.

486

00:26:48,232 --> 00:26:50,302

He gets to the river,

gets in, starts swimming.

487

00:26:50,332 --> 00:26:51,622

He gets bitten by a snake.

488

00:26:52,117 --> 00:26:56,257

Then he gets sent to the ER to

take care of this poisonous snake

489

00:26:56,257 --> 00:26:57,757

bite that he just got in the river.

490

00:26:58,327 --> 00:26:59,137

He's all fine.

491

00:26:59,137 --> 00:27:00,367

He survives the snake bite.

492

00:27:00,367 --> 00:27:03,907

He survives the ER visit, but the next

time he's walking to the river, his

493

00:27:03,907 --> 00:27:09,157

leg again feels that blade of grass,

that shrub, and he is in agonizing

494

00:27:09,157 --> 00:27:14,347

pain, just the most intense pain

he's experienced from that same.

495

00:27:14,767 --> 00:27:18,307

Sensation, that same brush against

the leg of that shrub or the blade

496

00:27:18,307 --> 00:27:21,037

of grass, I can't say it's the

same one, but you get the picture.

497

00:27:21,037 --> 00:27:25,777

It's the same intensity of signal,

but a completely different output

498

00:27:25,807 --> 00:27:28,717

because of his past experiences.

499

00:27:29,257 --> 00:27:32,647

How can that same blade of grass

trigger a completely different response?

500

00:27:32,917 --> 00:27:37,657

His brain used past experiences as

a way to protect him in the present.

501

00:27:38,002 --> 00:27:41,242

His brain had a previous experience

of brushing against a blade of

502

00:27:41,242 --> 00:27:45,112

grass and then a subsequent ER

visit after getting bit by a snake.

503

00:27:45,322 --> 00:27:49,642

So his brain takes that information and

says, okay, next time that happens, I'm

504

00:27:49,642 --> 00:27:54,562

going to remember that experience and

that ER visit, and the poison and the

505

00:27:54,562 --> 00:27:57,862

trauma that was from that experience.

506

00:27:58,222 --> 00:28:03,112

I'm going to create a response that

is going to elicit pain and let

507

00:28:03,112 --> 00:28:06,052

the body know that I'm in danger

so that it doesn't happen again.

508

00:28:06,802 --> 00:28:10,522

It wasn't just the input that created

that sensation of pain, but it was

509

00:28:10,522 --> 00:28:13,732

also the brain integrating a lot

of different components, especially

510

00:28:13,732 --> 00:28:18,352

his past experience of having that

blade of grass brush against his

511

00:28:18,352 --> 00:28:20,032

leg and then ending up in the er.

512

00:28:20,632 --> 00:28:24,292

So when we talk about the basics of

pain in our nervous system, pain is not

513

00:28:24,292 --> 00:28:26,062

actually a sensation that we can sense.

514

00:28:26,092 --> 00:28:28,462

Our brains do not actually sense pain.

515

00:28:28,882 --> 00:28:33,082

There is nothing that happens in our

body that says, oh, that was painful.

516

00:28:33,742 --> 00:28:37,522

What we have within our bodies are

receptors and sensors that sense

517

00:28:37,522 --> 00:28:40,852

potential threat, and these are

called nociceptors, and they sense

518

00:28:40,852 --> 00:28:42,472

a variety of potential threats.

519

00:28:43,027 --> 00:28:46,327

So we have receptors that sense

mechanical threats like pressure

520

00:28:46,357 --> 00:28:48,277

or cutting, like slicing the skin.

521

00:28:48,427 --> 00:28:52,237

We have chemical threats, so acid

or an inflammatory substance.

522

00:28:52,237 --> 00:28:54,187

We have thermal threats,

too hot, too cold.

523

00:28:54,487 --> 00:28:57,937

And then we also have of course, potential

tissue damage like a broken bone.

524

00:28:58,207 --> 00:29:02,107

So if you experience low back pain,

your low back alone cannot sense pain.

525

00:29:02,107 --> 00:29:04,327

It can only sense possible threat signals.

526

00:29:04,657 --> 00:29:08,407

That are sent to the brain where the

brain can integrate a lot of different

527

00:29:08,467 --> 00:29:12,517

inputs in order to create a certain

output, and sometimes that output is pain.

528

00:29:12,727 --> 00:29:15,847

So if you experience low back pain,

your back alone cannot sense pain.

529

00:29:15,847 --> 00:29:19,837

It can only sense possible threads to

be sent to the brain for the brain to

530

00:29:19,837 --> 00:29:22,087

decide what that response is going to be.

531

00:29:22,357 --> 00:29:25,567

Rather than thinking of pain as an

input, oh, I have low back pain.

532

00:29:25,597 --> 00:29:27,307

That pain signal is sent to the brain.

533

00:29:27,817 --> 00:29:31,417

Think of it as an output where,

okay, I've injured my low back.

534

00:29:31,912 --> 00:29:36,442

The nociceptors, the receptors

that sense potential threat in my

535

00:29:36,442 --> 00:29:40,642

low back are sending signals and

inputs to the brain, and the brain

536

00:29:40,642 --> 00:29:41,737

has to decide what to do with it.

537

00:29:42,502 --> 00:29:45,352

So after the signal is received, your

brain actually integrates the signal

538

00:29:45,352 --> 00:29:49,732

with a variety of other brain areas and

past experiences to create a response.

539

00:29:49,822 --> 00:29:51,292

The response doesn't have to be pain.

540

00:29:51,412 --> 00:29:53,872

It can be pain, but sometimes

that signal's ignored.

541

00:29:53,992 --> 00:29:55,972

Imagine if you sat on your wallet, right?

542

00:29:55,972 --> 00:29:57,622

Your wallet is pressure.

543

00:29:57,622 --> 00:30:01,852

We have sensors within our skin

that helps to sense that pressure.

544

00:30:02,122 --> 00:30:06,142

If we sat on our wallet and it was painful

every single time, that would be an issue.

545

00:30:06,622 --> 00:30:09,502

I know that's more of a guy thing

to have wallets in their pockets,

546

00:30:09,502 --> 00:30:12,052

but girls, you have those little

metal things in your jeans.

547

00:30:12,232 --> 00:30:16,522

That's pressure that our body

senses, and if our brains sense that

548

00:30:16,522 --> 00:30:18,652

as pain, every time we would be.

549

00:30:19,072 --> 00:30:21,202

Not able to sit down in genes.

550

00:30:21,382 --> 00:30:24,592

So instead, some of those signals

are ignored, which is a good thing.

551

00:30:24,802 --> 00:30:27,772

Sometimes the brain also

creates another response, like

552

00:30:27,802 --> 00:30:29,452

a muscle spasm, inflammation.

553

00:30:29,602 --> 00:30:33,292

It creates an altered movement pattern,

like a limp or a compensatory pattern.

554

00:30:33,292 --> 00:30:34,792

If you roll your ankle, maybe you.

555

00:30:35,182 --> 00:30:37,552

Also walk a little funny

to protect that area.

556

00:30:37,762 --> 00:30:39,562

Same with heightened

awareness of that area.

557

00:30:39,562 --> 00:30:42,862

I'm sure if you sprain your ankle,

moving that ankle in and out of bed,

558

00:30:42,862 --> 00:30:46,822

you're a little bit more aware of those

movements to not move the ankle in a

559

00:30:46,822 --> 00:30:49,582

certain way that might cause you pain.

560

00:30:49,942 --> 00:30:54,202

So we can think of pain as one of

the possible responses that our

561

00:30:54,202 --> 00:31:00,772

brain can help carry out based on

the signals it is receiving from all

562

00:31:00,772 --> 00:31:02,272

of the receptors within our body.

563

00:31:02,842 --> 00:31:06,112

This should actually feel super

empowering because it actually means

564

00:31:06,112 --> 00:31:09,172

that we can help to change those outputs.

565

00:31:09,562 --> 00:31:14,992

Our brain is sensing potential threats

and danger, and its job is to protect us.

566

00:31:15,470 --> 00:31:18,290

Speaker 3: This is a conversation I have

a lot with patients because a lot of the

567

00:31:18,290 --> 00:31:24,800

time, as the clip shows, we associate

structural pain with our body, sending

568

00:31:24,800 --> 00:31:29,030

us pain signals when in reality our

brain's job is to integrate a lot of

569

00:31:29,030 --> 00:31:30,350

different signals throughout the body.

570

00:31:30,380 --> 00:31:33,260

And one of the responses, one of

the outputs that the brain can

571

00:31:33,260 --> 00:31:34,695

create is the response of pain.

572

00:31:35,525 --> 00:31:39,245

So pain really isn't sensed within the

body, but it's a response to a variety

573

00:31:39,245 --> 00:31:40,775

of inputs that the brain is receiving.

574

00:31:41,109 --> 00:31:44,289

We covered so much of the female brain

this year, and I'd say in general these

575

00:31:44,289 --> 00:31:50,619

were some of our top episodes out of

2025, so I'm excited that we got to

576

00:31:50,619 --> 00:31:54,639

wrap up the year with the best of 2025

episode when it comes to the female brain.

577

00:31:54,639 --> 00:31:59,409

We'll also cover the female body and

just top moments and top cool things that

578

00:31:59,409 --> 00:32:01,029

we've learned from throughout the year.

579

00:32:01,179 --> 00:32:02,679

We can look at these episodes as.

580

00:32:02,729 --> 00:32:07,949

A book review or a podcast review over

the entire year to sort of summarize

581

00:32:08,249 --> 00:32:11,039

all of the cool things we've learned

about the female brain, the female

582

00:32:11,039 --> 00:32:15,059

body, and different fun facts we've

learned from all of the guests we've

583

00:32:15,059 --> 00:32:16,619

had on the podcast throughout the year.

584

00:32:16,619 --> 00:32:21,059

So thank you guys for joining me for our

first best of 2025 episode on The Female

585

00:32:21,059 --> 00:32:24,569

Brain, and I'll see you guys again on the

next episode of Wellness Picks the Pod.