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. 2018 May 23;12:18. doi: 10.3389/fnint.2018.00018

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Copyright © 2018 Greenwald and Shafritz.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

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Mind-body approach to healing that promotes executive control originating from mPFC. The inner circle indicates the behavioral mechanisms underlying chronic pain. This approach to healing, grounded in cognitive reappraisal, mindfulness meditation, and functional rehabilitation, will promote new synaptic connections necessary for fear extinction (outer circle). Notice that the inner circle does not go away. Instead, by strengthening the components of the outer circle, the mPFC can exercise executive control by inhibiting maladaptive pathways (inner circle). As a result, chronic pain patients learn how to better cope with pain, in essence giving them the power to conquer the debilitating nature of their pain.