Understanding Pain: Exploring the Perception of Pain

An expert explores the biological and emotional nature of pain: why it hurts and why some pain is good and some pain is bad.

If you touch something hot, it hurts. You snatch your hand away from the hot thing immediately. Obviously. But what is really happening, biologically—and emotionally? In Understanding Pain, Fernando Cervero explores the mechanisms and the meaning of pain. When you touch something hot, your brain triggers a reflex action that causes you to withdraw your hand, protectin...