Highlights•Assessing pain in animals is problematic without a distinct definition.•We provide
clear criteria for animal pain that can be used to evaluate if pain occurs.•The empirical …

Chronic pain is a maladaptive neurological disease that remains a major health problem. A
deepening of our knowledge on mechanisms that cause pain is a prerequisite to developing …

Recent developments in the study of pain in animals have demonstrated the potential for
pain perception in a variety of wholly aquatic species such as molluscs, crustaceans and …

The ability to react to environmental change is crucial for the survival of an organism and an
essential prerequisite is the capacity to detect and respond to aversive stimuli. The …

Foraging‐and feeding‐related behaviors across eumetazoans share similar molecular
mechanisms, suggesting the early evolution of an optimal foraging behavior called area …

All animals face hazards that cause tissue damage and most have nociceptive reflex
responses that protect them from such damage. However, some taxa have also evolved the …

Sublethal injury triggers long-lasting sensitization of defensive responses in most species
examined, suggesting the involvement of powerful evolutionary selection pressures [1]. In …

Although painful stimuli elicit defensive responses including escape behavior for survival,
starved animals often prioritize feeding over escape even in a noxious environment. This …

Since the first TRP ion channel was discovered in Drosophila melanogaster in 1989, the
progress made in this area of signaling research has yielded findings that offer the potential …

Mechanical injury is a prevalent challenge in the lives of animals with myriad potential
consequences for organisms, including reduced fitness and death. Research on animal …