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Neuroanatomy and Neurophysiology of Pain

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Treatment of Chronic Pain by Interventional Approaches

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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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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jefferson University, Medical Office Building I, 824 Main Street, Suite 307, Phoenixville, PA, 19460, USA

    Adam R. Burkey M.D., M.S.C.E.

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  1. Adam R. Burkey M.D., M.S.C.E.
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Correspondence to Adam R. Burkey M.D., M.S.C.E. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. President and CEO, Clinical Professor of Anesthesiology, The Center for Pain Relief, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Charleston, West Virginia, USA

    Timothy R. Deer

  2. Clinic Chief, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, Stanford Pain Medicine Center, Redwood City, CA, USA, and Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA

    Michael S. Leong

  3. Department of Anesthesiology, Orthopedic Anesthesia, Rush Medical College, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA

    Asokumar Buvanendran

  4. Center for Interventional Pain & Spine, DE and Bryn Mawr, Newark, Pennsylvania, USA

    Philip S. Kim

  5. President, National Institute of Pain, Tampa, Florida, USA

    Sunil J. Panchal

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© 2015 American Academy of Pain Medicine

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Burkey, A.R. (2015). Neuroanatomy and Neurophysiology of Pain. In: Deer, T., Leong, M., Buvanendran, A., Kim, P., Panchal, S. (eds) Treatment of Chronic Pain by Interventional Approaches. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1824-9_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1824-9_1

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