This book is very informative on how the body interprets pain, I found this very helpful working within the mental health sector and the way the brain processes pain.

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead.

I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings.

Anything requested and approved will be read and a decent quality review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Pain seems to be an inevitable part if human existence. The author makes the case for a scholarly and very thorough study of pain science. It starts with the history of pain science with the ancient Greeks through modern times. A fascinating read.

This is an interesting and informative book on how the body senses and interprets pain. There is a fair amount of necessary anatomical terminology that can get overwhelming; my own persistent, subconscious reluctance to keep “afferent” and “efferent” straight notwithstanding. Overall, I enjoyed this book.

Interesting read. I'm a Doctor of Physical Therapy and treat patients in pain on a daily basis in my professional life. I agree that perception is a huge part of pain control and pain responses, however, the anatomical and/or mechanical dysfunction must also be addressed in order for a patient to ever be 100% pain free. The concepts presented in this book aren't new to most healthcare providers dealing with pain management, but they are presented in a concise, easy-to-understand format that would be digestible for patients and may be beneficial to those experiencing pain, especially chronic pain. This book would be appropriate reading for both professionals and patients.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The Brain and Pain is truly a great work for anyone who is very interested in the science of the brain and pain; however, for someone like me, who is a bit of a novice as it pertains to the subject matter (I love the work of David Eagleman, for example), I got lost in the technical and scientific jargon very early on. I have told students this in the past...know your audience. I can see that Richard Ambron is certainly writing to his audience, his peers. But, with something like this that can be truly influential to the general public, one would want to make it more accessible, because I am sure many audience members who suffer from various forms of pain would like to know how to live it. By writing something that is more for the masses, you may be able to ease the mind of those that are going through the stages of agony.

The illustrations do help out a bit, but there needs to be more clear writing connected to what is being presented here, from my perspective.

I read this book through NetGalley (thank you) on my Kindle, so it may have just been formatting issues but there where numerous times were the letters "th" were missing from the start of a sentence; in addition to all numbers (in the text) were missing. I was very much looking forward to reading this book as I work in allied health and see patients with "pain" everyday, as it is a special interest of mine. This book essentially summarised the current understanding and research related to pain science into a concise, well put together book. The books prose was very good, although the first half, in particular, did feel like I was reading a textbook! The second half was less dense. While it did not add anything new to the complex world of pain science, it was still an enjoyable read for those with an interest in pain science. An understanding of basic anatomy and physiology would be of benefit before reading this book, although, not necessary.

As a person with chronic pain,, I found this book interesting though rather technical to read. There are no magic solutions here unfortunately, but it's interesting to learn more about how the brain perceives pain.

This was an informative discussion of the state of the neuroscience of pain. It was written at a level that would likely be a bit technical and inaccessible for a reader without a strong background or interest in biology and neuroanatomy. Certainly, the authors did a commendable job of attempting to keep the neuroscience relatively focused on the essential elements, but it's still fairly dense in terms of brain regions and physiology for a casual reader.

There was some apparent skepticism about psychology and nonpharmacological treatments for pain, but on balance, the authors do a nice job of taking a holistic, biopsychosocial approach to the topic.

Overall, I would recommend the book, with the caveat that it's geared toward those with a decent science background.

My rating is actually more stars than you can possibly imagine. Much like the sky.

As a person suffering from CRPS and having studied medicine on my own for over 40 years, I find this book to be THE BEST book ever written on how the brain sees pain. The brain is our computer and, when we're in pain, it reacts. A section of our brain lights up with its signal. We feel pain.

This book is written so that everyone can understand it. You don't need a college education to enjoy this book. All you need is an interest in the brain or want help figuring out why you have the pain you do.

We all have pain at some points in our life. Some of us have chronic pain. Don't you want to learn more about the brain and pain? Well, here's the book! You will love it! A perfect gift for everyone over the age of 15. Treat yourself!

Thank you, Richard, for writing this incredible book. It's living in my home where I will now be able to reference it as I write my book on living with pain.

Pick it up!!!!!!

"The Brain and Pain" explains how the human body senses pain and the parts of the brain involved with suppressing, increasing, or even caring about the pain. The author used scientific language and expected you to remember what each technical term meant so you could understand what he explained later. The target audience seemed to mainly be people who are developing drug interventions (as he explained potential pathways to target), but he did talk about how meditation, placebo, and hypnosis can change how we experience pain. He described in detail how the body senses an injury on your skin, then he talked about visceral pain. He talked about how current drugs work to suppress pain, what we know about chronic pain, and the challenges faced when developing a pain drug. Overall, the book was very informative. I learned some interesting things that anyone can do to help with pain.

This book is really not for the layman. It is written as a college level text book. I did like the presentation of the book and illustrations seem clear and well set out..

This is a good book that explores the relationship between pain, the brains perception of pain, and why different methods of pain relief may work or fail. Well organized and easy to read.

A comprehensive telling of the complexities and neurological underpinnings of pain sensation. Foundational neuroscience is explained in a manner that is easy to follow, framed in a language which makes clear the intricacies of the pain system even to the non-academic.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. All of the opinions given are my own and have been given nothing for my review.

"But the pain-" he said. "Pain", she sniffed. "A human can override any nerve in the body."

This is not a quote from this book, it's from Dune, but it fitted here almost perfectly. Human brain can override pain indeed - different paths, different cases, to different extent, but the possibility exists.

Perceiving pain is, in a very high degree, due also to awareness. It's fascinating to learn how complex is the relation between pain and brain, why some people perceive it in a smaller degree than others, why those with a missing limb still feel pain in it, and why no feeling of it will hinder your survival.

The author debates also the effect of placebo, analgesics, opioids and other substances, hypnosis, acupuncture, mindfulness, and how they work on pain relief. It is also demonstrated that psychological pain is as real as physical one, and in same cases even more intense.

For me it was not an easy read due to specialized medical terms, but I took my time, because the subject is highly interesting. I think if it had more examples or experiments it could appeal to a larger audience; in this format, it reads more like a medical journal, with latest developments in the field. Nonetheless, if the subject is of interest, it is worthy of your time.