Abstract
The neuroanatomy and physiology of pain can be discussed with regard to every level of the nervous system, from peripheral nerve to cerebral cortex. Rudimentary nociception is the physiologic perception of a potentially tissue-damaging stimulus and is the commonplace conception that holds when one claims that “something hurts.” However, as we review here, “something hurting” for an extended period of time will induce changes in the nervous system that may be irreversible. For this reason, many experts believe that all chronic pain is, to some extent, neuropathic. This makes it often impossible to merely remove the thorn from the lion’s paw (treat a defined bodily source) and eliminate chronic pain, as much as patients wish we could. Pain as a subjective, even abstract, experience involving a complex array of emotions may occur independent of any discernable bodily tissue damage, such as the case of fibromyalgia. For this reason, most chronic pain treatments – whether it is medications, cognitive therapies, or interventional procedures – attempt to alter physiological pain processing in the peripheral nerve, spinal cord, or forebrain.
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© 2013 American Academy of Pain Medicine
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Burkey, A.R. (2013). Neuroanatomy and Neurophysiology of Pain. In: Deer, T., et al. Comprehensive Treatment of Chronic Pain by Medical, Interventional, and Integrative Approaches. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-1560-2_20
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-1560-2_20
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