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Pain, cortex, and consciousness

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 2007

Marshall Devor
Affiliation:
Department of Cell and Animal Biology, Institute of Life Sciences and Center for Research on Pain, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 91904, Israel. marshlu@vms.huji.ac.il

Abstract

Painful stimuli evoke functional activations in the cortex, but electrical stimulation of these areas does not evoke pain sensation, nor does widespread epileptic discharge. Likewise, cortical lesions do not eliminate pain sensation. Although the cortex may contribute to pain modulation, the planning of escape responses, and learning, the network activity that constitutes the actual experience of pain probably occurs subcortically.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
2007 Cambridge University Press

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