Connect
MJA
MJA

First-person neuroscience and the understanding of pain

Lester E Jones and Laura Y Whitburn
Med J Aust 2012; 196 (11): . || doi: 10.5694/mja12.10746
Published online: 18 June 2012

To the Editor: At first, Thacker and Moseley appear to do an about-turn on much of their published work by de-emphasising the role of the brain and nervous system in the human pain experience.1 However, on closer scrutiny, their reflection encapsulates key messages for health professionals about pain not being located in the tissues, while exposing the inadequacy of non-person-centred approaches to their practice and to researching pain.


  • La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC.


Correspondence: l.jones@latrobe.edu.au

Competing interests:

No relevant disclosures.

  • 1. Thacker MA, Moseley GL. First-person neuroscience and the understanding of pain. Med J Aust 2012; 196: 410-411.
  • 2. Moseley GL, Gallace A, Spence C. Bodily illusions in health and disease: physiological and clinical perspectives and the concept of a cortical ‘body matrix’. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2012; 36: 34-45.
  • 3. Fuchs T, Schlimme JE. Embodiment and psychopathoogy: a phenomenological perspective. Curr Opin Psychiatry 2009; 22: 570-575.
  • 4. Glannon W. Our brains are not us. Bioethics 2009; 23: 321-329.

Author

remove_circle_outline Delete Author
add_circle_outline Add Author

Comment
Do you have any competing interests to declare? *

I/we agree to assign copyright to the Medical Journal of Australia and agree to the Conditions of publication *
I/we agree to the Terms of use of the Medical Journal of Australia *
Email me when people comment on this article

Online responses are no longer available. Please refer to our instructions for authors page for more information.