Der Schmerz
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Biography Historical Article
[From Descartes to fMRI. Pain theories and pain concepts].
In the seventeenth century the philosopher Rene Descartes was the forerunner by establishing a scientific hypothesis on the origin of pain. Much later, in the nineteenth century, pain hypotheses emerged which explained the pain sensation either on the basis of intense stimulation of any kind of nerve fibers (intensity hypothesis) or on the basis of specific nociceptors (specificity hypothesis). The "gate control theory" established by Melzack and Wall (1964) offered an explanation of modulations of pain sensation by the interaction between nociceptive and non-nociceptive nerve fibers and by descending control in the central nervous system. ⋯ On this basis also new pain therapies have been developed. On the other hand, the methods of functional imaging allow the identification of brain regions related to pain processing at a macroscopic level. This new technology opened up new ways of understanding chronic pain processes and new possibilities for the control of therapeutic effects.
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Editorial Historical Article
[Twenty years of Der Schmerz. Consolidate and expand].
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Editorial Historical Article
[Twenty years of Der Schmerz. A personal look retrospect].
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Historical Article
[History of pain therapy. Pain in a medical, historical and social context].