Grimbeard

A thought (well, half of one at least): One thing that occurs to me regarding the "it doesn't hurt until I notice it" issue, for children in particular, is that when they "hurt themselves" (for want of a better phrase), for example when falling off a swing, they will seek for cues suggesting how to react. If no-one's watching they may just get back on the swing and carry on; if a friend's there they may laugh it off; if mummy's there they may cry (I strongly suspect that adults do something similar ). The response to the stimulus certainly appears to be dependent on social and emotional context. This is nowhere near an explanation of course - kids don't suddenly cease to feel pain when mummy leaves the room (I would guess, anyway) - but it may go some way to explaining the development of a perception of "pain" as a socially-mediated response. Alternatively, the kid in the above example may actually feel "pain" in all 3 of the situations, but their reaction to that "pain" is different (i.e. socially-mediated). I'm losing it - but then I said it was only half a thought! It's way too early for me to be thinking...need glucose and caffeine

Exactly - after the reflex - the reflex itself is not indicative of pain <edit> that's why when you stub your toe, for example, you withdraw (reflex) then there's that moment where you know it's about to hurt - pain is a cognitive/emotional response - not a physiological one.

I don't mean to be rude, but is there any chance you could explain what you mean by that? I don't seem to be getting your meaning.

A fair point - but as you imply yourself: the reflex is not pain. Pain is what happens when your brain says "'ow, what did you do that for" and interprets the stimulus as pain.

Are you suggesting that a psychological stimulus is indirect when it comes to perception? (in this case, the perception of pain) Do you not think, as perception is psychological, that a psychological basis is direct, and a physical reason is indirect? After all, your fingers (for example) do not feel pain: your brain does.

Is the cockroach biting her?