The nervous system detects and interprets a wide range of thermal and mechanical stimuli,
as well as environmental and endogenous chemical irritants. When intense, these stimuli …

Specialized peripheral sensory neurons known as nociceptors alert us to potentially
damaging stimuli at the skin by detecting extremes in temperature and pressure and injury …

The mammalian nervous system encodes many different forms of pain, from those that arise
as a result of short-term low-grade interactions with noxious thermal, chemical, or …

Pain is necessary for survival, but persistent pain can result in anxiety, depression and a
reduction in the quality of life. The discriminative and affective qualities of pain are both …

There are two basic categories of pain: physiological pain, which serves an important
protective function, and pathological pain, which can have a major negative impact on …

The sensation of pain alerts us to real or impending injury and triggers appropriate
protective responses. Unfortunately, pain often outlives its usefulness as a warning system …

Inflammatory pain manifests as spontaneous pain and pain hypersensitivity. Spontaneous
pain reflects direct activation of specific receptors on nociceptor terminals by inflammatory …

Clinical pain is a serious public health issue. Treatment of pain-related suffering requires
knowledge of how pain signals are initially interpreted and subsequently transmitted and …

The molecular/genetic era has seen the discovery of a staggering number of molecules
implicated in pain mechanisms [18],[35],[61],[69],[96],[133],[150],[202],[224]. This has …

Pain is an unpleasant but essential-to-life sensation, usually resulting from tissue damage.
When pain persists long after the injury has resolved, it becomes pathological. The precise …