Focused Attention Dims Inflammation in Healthy Volunteers, Bar-Ilan Study Finds
A Bar-Ilan University study published in Nature Human Behaviour shows that actively directing attention to an inflamed skin area reduces the inflammatory response and speeds recovery, via both sensory pathways and top-down brain mechanisms. Across three preregistered experiments with 57 healthy volunteers, about 90% showed smaller inflammation when focusing on the area, with responses roughly 1.5 times smaller and faster return to baseline. The findings suggest attention can actively shape physiological processes, though the applicability to chronic inflammation remains to be determined.
