It is only natural for someone in pain to attend to the body part that hurts. Yet this book tells the story of persistent pain having negative effects on brain function. The contributors, all leading experts in their respective fields of pain electrophysiology, brain imaging, and animal models of pain, strive to synthesize compelling and, in some ways, connected hypotheses with regard to pain-related changes in the brain. Together, they contribute their clinical, academic, and theoretical expertise in a comprehensive overview that attempts to define the broader philosophical context of pain (disentangling sensical from nonsensical claims), " "list the changes known to take place in the brains of individuals with chronic pain and animal models of pain, address the possible causes and mechanisms underlying these changes, and detail the techniques and analytical methods at our disposal to "visualize" and study these changes.
Philosophical and social concepts of pain; testimonials of chronic-pain patientsClinical data from pain patients brainsAdvances in noninvasive brain imaging for pain patientsCombining theoretical and empirical approaches to the analysis of pain-related brain functionManipulation of brain function in animal models Emerging neurotechnology principles for pain diagnostics and therapeutics"

Light, sound, taste, and smell shape our lives dramatically, but how does this happen? How can a far-away noise elicit a joyful memory or a cry? How can the smell of cookies take you back to early childhood? These powerful stimuli exist in our environment, yet remain neutral until our brain decodes the necessary information into meaningful senses. In other words, light is transformed into vision, and sound into hearing, by the brain and the brain only. ""Seeing, Hearing, and Smelling the World"" reveals the phenomena underlying our senses, with a brief discussion of what can go wrong (for example, hearing colors or seeing sounds). This book will reacquaint readers with their senses and challenge their fundamental understanding of the amazing human mind.

Learn about the section of the brain that oversees and regulates the function of the nervous system as a whole.