Reshaping the brain's response to pain

Plus: What you should know about processed meat Jessica Pons for NPRPerson's Name/Source [Can Your Reshape Your Brain's Response To Pain?]( About 50 million Americans suffer from chronic pain. Many of those folks have trouble pinpointing their pain’s cause when it doesn’t stem from a physical injury or illness. As it turns out, the root of chronic pain isn’t always an injury or illness. Serious emotional trauma can contribute to it too. So some researchers are exploring a new kind of therapy to address trauma and studying its effects on patients’ chronic pain. For some people, they’re seeing positive results. [Read on to learn how therapy can help some people with chronic pain.]( Joe Raedle/Getty Images [What Cutting Back On Hot Dogs And Bacon Can Do Your For Your Health]( You might want to skip the hot dogs this Fourth of July, according to a new study published in the BMJ. This study looked at the long-term health consequences of eating red, processed meats for about 80,000 people - and found that those who ate more of them had a 13% higher risk of death during the study’s followup period than those who didn’t. Pretty scary stuff. But what’s the big deal with processed meat specifically? And what other convenient foods can you replace it with? [Read more about the perils of processed meat and what to eat instead.]( KUL BHATIA/Kul Bhatia/Science Source [The Uniquely Musical Human Brain]( Our brains may be uniquely tuned to recognize music, says a new study in Nature Neuroscience. Researchers monitored the brains of humans and monkeys as they listened to both musical and noisy sounds -- and found that monkeys' brains didn't appear to recognize music, while human brains did. The research may offer a little more insight into how we humans use musicality as a tool in communication, researchers say. [Learn more about how we use pitch and tone to convey meaning.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- More of this week’s health stories from NPR [Your guide to food labels and what they really mean]( [What medicine can learn from doctors with disabilities]( [​What’s behind the sky-high cost of air ambulances]( We hope you enjoyed these stories. Find more of NPR's [health journalism on Shots]( and follow us on Twitter at [@NPRHealth.]( Your Shots editor, Carmel Wroth --------------------------------------------------------------- What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: [shots@npr.org](mailto:shots@npr.org?subject=Newsletter%20Feedback) Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can [sign up here](. Looking for more great content? [Check out all of our newsletter offerings]( — including Goats & Soda, Daily News, Best of NPR and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to our Health emails. | [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy]( | NPR 1111 N. CAPITOL ST. NE WASHINGTON DC 20002 [NPR]