Understanding Pain ─ Exploring the Perception of Pain

If you touch something hot, it hurts. You snatch your hand away from the hot thingimmediately. Obviously. But what is really happening, biologically--and emotionally? InUnderstanding Pain, Fernando Cervero explores the mechanisms and the meaning ofpain. You touch something hot and your brain triggers a reflex action that causes you to withdrawyour 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 acurse: chronic pain that is not related to injury. This is the kind of pain that fills pain clinicsand makes life miserable. Cervero describes current research into the mysteries of chronic pain andefforts to develop more effective treatments. Cervero reminds us that pain is the most common reasonfor people to seek medical attention, but that it remains a biological enigma. It is protective, butnot always. Its effects are not only sensory but also emotional. There is no way to measure itobjectively, no test that comes back positive for pain; the only way a medical professional cangauge pain is by listening to the patient's description of it. The idea of pain as a test ofcharacter or a punishment to be borne is changing; prevention and treatment of pain are increasinglyimportant to researchers, clinicians, and patients. Cervero's account brings us closer tounderstanding the meaning of pain.