Abstract
Pain is “an aversive sensory and emotional experience” (the International Association for the Study of Pain) . Recent brain imaging and neurophysiological studies revealed that the networks underlying pain experience are sub‐divided into three main systems : thalamocortical, anterior cingulate‐insular cortex, and parabrachio‐amygdaloid systems. Concerning the pain‐associated emotion, the anterior cingulate‐insular cortex system is more involved in cognitively perceived negative emotion, While the parabrachio‐amygdaloid system is more linked with the “sentient” subconscious emotion which is more important in the defensive/survival function of the pain. Importantly, these systems undergo robust plasticity in chronic pain, which in turn modulates pain sensitivity, thus forming a total aversive experience of pain.
