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Nature Reviews Neuroscience 6, 505 (1 July 2005) | doi:10.1038/nrn1720

From molecules to suffering

Troels Staehelin Jensen

What is pain: a sensation, an experience, a symptom, or even a disease? We are all familiar with this deceptively simple term, but when it comes to description simplicity ends. No single definition seems to be able to encapsulate all the nuances of pain, which range from simple sensations to complex emotional experiences such as grief and suffering.