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The sensory aspects of pain are
what people normally refer to when they talk of pain, namely that it is a personal,
private sensation that is experienced as unpleasant or highly noxious to the person
experiencing it. When someone says “I am in pain”, or “It hurts”, it is often this
sensory element that is referred to. This sensation is interpreted cognitively as
reflecting harm to the person, who also responds, possibly simultaneously with emotional/
motivational activation and some patterns of behavioural response. The purpose of this
seems to be to signal damage and protect from further harm. |