What is the brain's connection to pain?

Have you ever stopped to think about what the brain’s connection with pain is – and how it works? 

The brain is, without a doubt, the most intriguing and mysterious organ in the human body. 

Responsible for controlling all activities that occur throughout our body.

But what is the relationship between our brain – our most important organ – and pain? How does this relationship work and what do scientists have to say about it?

It was with this in mind that the idea for today's content came about! 

In this material, we will address this connection between the brain and pain and understand a little more about how this connection interferes with the way we feel different things.

The importance of pain itself

No one likes to feel pain, right? From mild discomfort to more intense pain, any and all pain is unpleasant and causes discomfort.

But if we stop to think about it, pain is, in most cases, something that is relatively beneficial to us and, in a certain way, is important for our lives.

A simple example, but one that illustrates this idea very well:

When there is a very hot surface and we accidentally touch it, the moment we feel this pain, we immediately remove our hand, right?

This type of experience can even result in a blister or even a more superficial burn. 

But have you ever stopped to think if this pain signal didn't exist and we weren't able to feel that pain? Our hand would remain there on that surface, quite calmly.

And the result of the burn would be much worse, since the time our skin was in contact with this heat was longer.

In addition to this sense of instinct, pain also works as a warning sign for what is happening in our body.

This is because, when we feel frequent pain in a certain part of our body, it most likely means that something is not right.

And it is through seeking specialized help that it is possible to discover the origin of the pain and treat it in the best possible way.

In other words: as unpleasant as it may be and as much as no one likes to feel, pain is essential for our survival.

What is the brain's connection to pain?

Although we don't feel the pain itself, the brain plays a central role in this process.

Generally speaking, pain follows a specific path in our body.

Initially, pain is perceived by receptor cells – which are located in the skin and internal organs.

It then travels through the nerves to the spinal cord; finally, it is interpreted as pain by a specific part of the brain, the thalamus, resulting in the awareness of pain.

Does the brain itself feel pain?

Despite the brain's connection to pain, does it also feel pain?

Everyone has had a really bad headache, right? The kind that feels like it's never going to end and that your head is going to explode at any moment, you know?

As much as it may seem like pain in our brain, this does not happen. Our brain itself does not have nerve endings for this to occur.

In these cases of very severe headache, what happens is that the structures that exist around the brain itself – such as the meninges, blood vessels, nervous tissue and even the muscles that are part of our neck – can suffer certain pressure or changes.

This type of behavior in these structures causes pain receptors to be activated, and they instantly send signals to our brain.

A very common example of this type of occurrence is the headache that is associated with a hangover.

This happens because, with excessive alcohol consumption, it is normal for our body to become dehydrated.

This dehydration causes pain in the blood vessels in our head. This is what causes that annoying headache after a night of drinking.

In other words: the brain itself does not feel pain. 

5 interesting facts about our brain

Now that you know a little more about our brain's relationship with pain, let's continue exploring this fascinating organ a little further.

To do this, we have selected 5 interesting facts about our brain that you probably didn’t know. Let’s go!

It's a blood vessel that never ends

In order to function correctly and control our entire body correctly, our brain needs to receive the necessary amount of oxygen.

Therefore, this area of our body is full of blood vessels that help with this task. 

To give you an idea of the number of blood vessels present in our brain, if they were placed one behind the other, it is estimated that this line could reach up to 600 km in length! 

There's a blood vessel, huh!

The brain and water

Most of our body is made up of water. And the brain is no different! 

About 75% of the total mass of our brain is composed of water.  

The weight of a brain

Have you ever stopped to think how much your brain weighs? 

Although it is an extremely important organ that controls our entire body, the brain itself does not weigh even 2 kg. 

An adult's brain weighs approximately 1.4 kg.

But, despite its small weight, our brain is the organ that uses the most oxygen. In certain situations, the human brain can consume up to 50% of the oxygen available in our body.

The size of a brain

Now that we've talked about weight, let's talk about size.

Yes, despite having the same weight on average, human beings can have brains of different sizes. 

And do you know what this changes in relation to intelligence or memory? Yes, that's right: nothing!

It doesn't matter whether a brain is bigger or smaller. The difference in size has no effect on an individual's intelligence or memory.

The explanation for dreams

Everyone has had that crazy dream that doesn't make any sense, right?

And even though it is something routine in all of our lives, to this day there is no exact scientific explanation for these dreams.  

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