An expert explores the biological and emotional nature of pain: why it hurts and why some pain is good and some pain is bad. If you touch something hot, it hurts. You snatch your hand away from the hot thing immediately. Obviously. But what is really happening, biologically—and emotionally? In Understanding Pain, Fernando Cervero explores the mechanisms and the meaning of pain. When you touch something hot, your brain triggers a reflex action that causes you to withdraw your hand, protecting you from injury. That kind of pain, Cervero explains, is actually good for us; it acts as an alarm that warns us of danger and keeps us away from harm. But, Cervero tells us, not all pain is good for you. There is another kind of pain that is more like a curse: chronic pain that is not related to injury. This is the kind of pain that fills pain clinics and makes life miserable. Cervero describes current research into the mysteries of chronic pain and efforts to develop more effective treatments. Cervero reminds us that pain is the most common reason for people to seek medical attention, but that it remains a biological enigma. It is protective, but not always. Its effects are not only sensory but also emotional. There is no way to measure it objectively, no test that comes back positive for pain; the only way a medical professional can gauge pain is by listening to the patient's description of it. The idea of pain as a test of character or a punishment to be borne is changing; prevention and treatment of pain are increasingly important to researchers, clinicians, and patients. Cervero's account brings us closer to understanding the meaning of pain.

What can illusions teach us about pain? Is what we see, hear, and feel as simple as it appears to be? The modern science of perception has unearthed new ways to think about pain - as a multi-sensory and multi-factorial phenomenon. Leading pain researchers, Dan Harvie and Lorimer Moseley, walk us through this science by interacting with illusions that challenge our assumptions on how perception actually works. A visually stunning, fun and accessible read to help anyone better understand and respond to pain.

Under certain pathological conditions, the pain processing system, which includes both physiological and psychological components, can produce the experience of pain in the absence of any peripheral noxious event. Considerable evidence now indicates that alterations in pain perception are characteristic of many clinical pain states. Pathophysiology of Pain Perception primarily examines these pathological alterations in the pain-signaling system, with contributions from leading researchers in the field focusing on the functioning of the pain processing system under normal and pathological conditions. The understanding of pain perception is essential for optimal diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic pain. This book covers the basics of pain perception (peripheral and central neurotransmission, methods of assessment), various pathological (chronic pain conditions, neurological and psychiatric diseases, cardiovascular disease), and non-pathological alterations of pain perception (pregnancy, labor) as well as the treatments aiming at influencing pain perception such as pharmacological, physical and psychological treatments.

Introduction to Pain and its relation to Nervous System Disorders provides an accessible overview of the latest developments in the science underpinning pain research, including, but not limited to, the physiological, pathological and psychological aspects. This unique book fills a gap in current literature by focussing on the intricate relationship between pain and human nervous system disorders such as Autism, Alzheimer Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, Depression and Multiple Sclerosis. This fully illustrated, colour handbook will help non-experts, including advanced undergraduate and new postgraduate students, become familiar with the current, wide-ranging areas of research that cover every aspect of the field from chronic and inflammatory pain to neuropathic pain and biopsychosocial models of pain, functional imaging and genetics. Contributions from leading experts in neuroscience and psychiatry provide both factual information and critical points of view on their approach and the theoretical framework behind their choices. An appreciation of the strengths and weaknesses of brain imaging technology applied to pain research in humans provides the tools required to understand current cutting edge literature on the topic. Chapters covering placebo effects in analgesia and the psychology of pain give a thorough overview of cognitive, psychological and social influences on pain perception. Sections exploring pain in the lifecycle and in relation to nervous system disorders take particular relevance from a clinical point of view. Furthermore, an intellectually stimulating chapter analysing the co-morbidity of pain and depression provides a philosophical angle rarely presented in related handbooks. The references to external research databases and relevant websites aim to prompt readers to become critical and independent thinkers, and motivate them to carry out further reading on these topics. Introduction to Pain and its relation to Nervous System Disorders is essential reading for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students in neuroscience, medical and biomedical sciences, as well as for clinical and medical healthcare professionals involved in pain management.

Solid evidence now shows that knowing why we hurt will help us heal. All pain is real, and for many people it is a debilitating part of everyday life. In a world where 1 in 5 of us experience ongoing pain and where there is increasing evidence for the failure of synthetic drugs, take heart: help is at hand. It is now known that understanding more about why things hurt can actually help treat pain. Recent advances in fields such as neurophysiology, brain imaging, immunology, psychology and cellular biology have provided an explanatory platform from which to explore pain. In everyday language accompanied by quirky illustrations, Explain Pain Second Edition discusses how pain responses are produced by the brain, how responses to injury from the autonomic motor and immune systems in your body contribute to pain, and why pain can persist after tissues have had plenty of time to heal. Co-author Dr David Butler, founder of the Neuro Orthopaedic Institute, says that "it is no longer acceptable that pain be just managed: we must expect that it can be treated, and sufferers can alter it themselves through education." Explain Pain has sold around 60,000 copies world-wide in 5 languages and continues to inspire clinical research and multidisciplinary pain treatment globally. Explain Pain aims to give people in pain the power to challenge pain and to consider new models for viewing what happens to your body and brain during pain. Once they have learnt about the processes involved they can follow a scientific route to recovery. Why a second edition? A decade of scientific research is a lot – and we need to keep on top of it. In the last 10 years there has been increasing support for therapeutic neuroscience education from clinical trials, educational science, neuroscience, plain logic and the failure of drug therapy on chronic pain outcomes. Lorimer and David have subtly changed some of the language so that the second edition can be delivered with much more authority than the first. Noigroup Publications (2013), 133 pages, 90+ illustrations and diagrams, half-canadian wire bound. ISBN: 978-0-9873426-6-9 Authors: Dr David S. Butler and Prof G. Lorimer Moseley.

Pain is an inevitable part of existence, but severe debilitating or chronic pain is a pathological condition that diminishes the quality of life. The Brain and Pain explores the present and future of pain management, providing a comprehensive understanding based on the latest discoveries from many branches of neuroscience. Richard Ambron—the former director of a neuroscience lab that conducted leading research in this field—explains the science of how and why we feel pain. He describes how the nervous system and brain process information that leads to the experience of pain, detailing the cellular and molecular functions that are responsible for the initial perceptions of an injury. He discusses how pharmacological agents such as opiates affect the duration and intensity of pain. Ambron examines new evidence showing that discrete circuits in the brain modulate the experience of pain in response to a placebo, fear, anxiety, belief, or other circumstances, as well as how pain can be relieved by activating these circuits using mindfulness training and other nonpharmacological treatments. The book also evaluates the prospects of procedures such as deep brain stimulation and optogenetics. Current and thorough, The Brain and Pain will be invaluable for a range of people seeking to understand their options for treatment as well as students in neuroscience and medicine.

This much anticipated collection of stories, written by Oxford University Fellow and Pain Scientist, Dr GL Moseley, provides an entertaining and informative way to understand modern pain biology. Described by critics as 'a gem' and by clinicians as 'entertaining and educative', Painful Yarns is a unique book. The stories, some of his travels in outback Australia, some of experiences growing up, are great yarns. At the end of each story, there is a section "so what has this got to do with pain?" in which Lorimer uses the story as a metaphor for some aspect of pain biology. The level of the pain education is appropriate for patients and health professionals. The entertainment is good for everyone. You don't have to be interested in pain to get something from this book and a laugh or two!