The subjective experience of pain arises when signals from the body converge with brain networks, influenced by emotions, cognitions, and memory.

“And it's once they hit the brain and they converge with this magical mystery set of nerves in the brain that it becomes the experience of pain. And if there's one key message I'd like to get to the audience is that what goes on out here, what goes on in your shoulder, in your neck is not pain. That's nociception. Those are electrical signals, electrochemical impulses being transmitted. And that is to be distinguished from what becomes the subjective experience of pain that you have. And why it's critical is that our brain serves so many functions of emotions, cognitions, memory, action. All of that shapes those signals coming in from our body to create your unique experience of pain that's different from everybody else's.”