Pain

What is Pain?

Nociception is the process of neurotransmission that transmits and processes information relating to tissue damage. It originates from sensory receptors known as nociceptors. Pain, on the other hand, is a conscious experience arising from nociception. It has previously been described as:

1. "An unpleasant sensory or emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage." (International Association for the Study of Pain, 1978).
2. "A multidimenstional experience produced from characteristic neurosignature patterns arising from nerve impulses generated by a widely distributed neural network located in the brain. These neurosignatures can be generated independently of somatosensory input". (Melzack, 1999).

Physiology and Pathophysiology of Pain Transmission