> The drive to look deeper into these neurons grew out of a simple observation Betley and his team made shortly after he joined Penn in 2015—hunger could dampen long-term pain responses. “When it came to chronic, lingering pain, hunger seemed to be more powerful than Advil at reducing pain.”

This in itself is a very interesting observation. I've always been inclined to fast during times of pain and anxiety, and honestly it kind of works? Could well be part of meditative fasting's popularity throughout history.