Connect
MJA
MJA

First-person neuroscience and the understanding of pain

Michael A Thacker and G Lorimer Moseley
Med J Aust 2012; 196 (6): . || doi: 10.5694/mja12.10468
Published online: 2 April 2012

Might science need philosophy for a precise and complete understanding of pain?

We were invited to reflect upon brain–mind–pain interactions and to opine on whether modern neuroscience adequately considers pain phenomena and experience. One might suggest that adequacy is not a particularly lofty goal in this respect. However, if we were to consider whether modern neuroscience thoroughly, or precisely, considers pain phenomena and experience, we would have to conclude in the negative.


  • 1 Centre of Human and Aerospace Physiological Sciences, and Pain Research Section, Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry,King’s College London, London, UK.
  • 2 Sansom Institute for Health Research, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA.
  • 3 Neuroscience Research Australia, Sydney, NSW.


Correspondence: lorimer.moseley@gmail.com

Competing interests:

Lorimer Moseley has received consultancy fees from Grünenthal and speaker’s fees or travel expenses for meetings organised by NOIGroup Australia, Boehringer Ingelheim Europe, Grünenthal Europe and Sandoz.

  • 1. Butler DS, Moseley GL. Explain pain. Adelaide: NOIGroup Publications, 2003.
  • 2. Wall P. Pain: the science of suffering. London: Orion Books, 1999.
  • 3. Bennett MR, Hacker PMS. Philosophical foundations of neuroscience. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2003.
  • 4. Dahl R. William and Mary. In: Kiss kiss. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1960.
  • 5. Marinus J, Moseley GL, Birklein F, et al. Clinical features and pathophysiology of complex regional pain syndrome. Lancet Neurol 2011; 10: 637-648.
  • 6. 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: 34-46.
  • 7. James W. The principles of psychology. New York: Henry Holt, 1890.
  • 8. Gallagher S. Phenomenology and experimental design: toward a phenomenologically enlightened experimental science. J Conscious Stud 2003; 10: 85-99.
  • 9. Northoff G, Qin P, Feinberg TE. Brain imaging of the self — conceptual, anatomical and methodological issues. Conscious Cogn 2011; 20: 52-63.
  • 10. Price DD, Barrell JJ, Rainville P. Integrating experiential-phenomenological methods and neuroscience to study neural mechanisms of pain and consciousness. Conscious Cogn 2002; 11: 593-608.

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.