The Science Behind the Symptoms

Dr. Howard Schubiner and Dr. Becca Kennedy sit down with Gigi Cockell to discuss her experience living with EDS and hypermobility and the chronic symptoms she experienced. Gigi shares her journey of searching for answers and how learning about neuroplastic symptoms helped her understand the role the brain can play in generating real physical pain and other conditions. Her story offers a hopeful perspective for others with EDS and hypermobility who may feel stuck in ongoing symptoms and are looking for a new way to approach recovery.

Malissa's full recovery from years of chronic, debilitating back pain
In this episode of The Science Behind the Symptoms, Howard Schubiner, MD, and Becca Kennedy, MD, discuss Malissa’s story and examine the science behind how chronic back pain, diagnosed by multiple specialists as stemming from real degenerative findings on MRI, can completely resolve without medicines, procedures, external devices or surgery.   As Malissa began searching for answers beyond what the specialists had told her and uncovered the true reasons her brain was trying to protect her, her pain began to shift.   This conversation connects the science of learned neural pathways with the courage to change relational patterns, offering evidence-based hope for anyone living with chronic pain.

In this episode, Becca Kennedy, M.D., and Howard Schubiner, M.D., examine how placebo and nocebo effects shape real health outcomes. They discuss how expectations can drive real physiological change, for better or worse, and why understanding these effects matters in medical care.

In this episode, Dr. Howard Schubiner and Dr. Becca Kennedy examine POTS through the framework of neuroplastic symptoms. They explore the science behind how symptoms can develop and persist, and why approaching POTS with curiosity can create new possibilities for healing. The conversation offers clarity, hope, and insight into emerging research and neuroplastic recovery therapies for those living with POTS.

In this episode, Liz joins us to share her experience with Long COVID. Dr. Howard Schubiner and Dr. Becca Kennedy examine the science behind her symptoms and explain how neuroplastic symptoms can persist. Together, the conversation connects lived experience with emerging science, helping listeners better understand what is happening in the body and what recovery can look like.

In this episode, Dr. Howard Schubiner and Dr. Becca Kennedy unpack the science behind Rebecca Tolin’s recovery from 13 years of chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalitis. Although she was told that Epstein–Barr virus (among many other diagnoses) was the reason for her CFS/ME, she actually recovered through neuroplastic recovery therapies. Dr. Schubiner and Dr. Kennedy describe the scientific studies that break down why EBV is not a valid explanation for persistent symptoms. Together, they illustrate how Rebecca fully healed by addressing the learned patterns in her brain—and what her story reveals about the true mechanisms behind many chronic symptoms.

This episode breaks down the emerging noninvasive therapies that move people beyond coping and into full resolution of neuroplastic symptoms. Dr. Schubiner and Dr. Kennedy explain how these methods work, why they outperform standard management approaches, and what current research reveals about lasting recovery.

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.

In this episode, Dr. Becca Kennedy and Dr. Howard Schubiner break down the science of neuroplastic pain—how the brain, not the body, can create real pain. They explain how to distinguish neuroplastic from structural pain and show how understanding the difference can lead to lasting recovery.

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.