Neurophysiology of pain for non-neurophysiologists: a systematic review

Abstract

This systematic literature review aims at providing a concise, yet comprehensive overview of the neurophysiology of pain for non-neurophysiologists. In particular, we focused on the neurophysiological processes involved in the transduction, transmission, modulation, and perception of acute pain. A systematic literature search was performed using the PubMed-database on October 30th, 2020. After screening for inclusion/exclusion, we selected 79 articles to be included in this review. The primary intention of this review is to serve as base upon which mathematical and computational models of the pain system can be built. For this purpose, we present the consensus and disagreements in the field in a comprehensive manner. We also hope that it can provide insight for other professionals interested on pain, who do not have a background in neurophysiology.