Do Our Bodies Follow Familiar Paths?: A Hypothesis on Pain Pathways and Immunological Responses In areas we know well, drivers often find themselves drifting onto familiar routes out of habit, sometimes ignoring the navigator’s directions—habit-formed, involuntary actions overriding new instructions and leading us along well-worn paths. In contrast, when driving through unfamiliar territory, we are more likely to pay close attention to the navigator and follow its guidance carefully, reaching our destination without incident. This contrast in behavior toward the familiar and the novel may offer insights into how our bodies respond to pain and new infections. As a lay person, I wonder if our bodies, like drivers, tend to follow familiar routes– and whether this tendency could explain some patterns in pain and immune response. I will illustrate this idea with two examples: first, higher occurrence of fibromyalgia (FM) in women in their mid-40s compared to men; and second, children'...