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Ideas about pain, a historical view

Nature Reviews Neuroscience volume 8, pages 71–80 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

The expression 'painful' can be used to describe both an embarrassing moment and a cut on the finger. An explanation for this dichotomy can be found in the convoluted history of ideas about pain. Whether pain is an independent sensation and the product of dedicated neural mechanisms continues to be a topic of debate. This overview concentrates on the issue of specificity together with other notable information regarding pain that has emerged since 1800.

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Figure 1: Theories of pain.
Figure 2: The compound action potential.
Figure 3: Peripheral sensitization of nociceptors.

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Acknowledgements

I am very grateful to B. Taylor-Blake for her invaluable help with the bibliography and preparation of the manuscript. Support for the preparation of this article was provided by a grant from the National Institutes of Health.

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  1. Department of Cell & Molecular Physiology, 5109D Neuroscience Research Building, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, 27599-7545, North Carolina, USA

    Edward R. Perl

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Perl, E. Ideas about pain, a historical view. Nat Rev Neurosci 8, 71–80 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2042

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