Pain is a highly subjective sensory experience which, more than any other sensory
experience, varies between and within individuals. Functional imaging studies have
shown that the pain experience is subserved by activation of an extended network of
brain areas. Electrophysiological recordings with their high temporal resolution revealed
different neuronal responses within this network. Phase-locked evoked potentials as
well as non-phase-locked induced oscillations have been observed. Recent evidence
suggests that these partially overlapping responses represent different steps in the
transformation of sensory information into a subjective percept. This information
can be integrated with the high spatial resolution of MRI techniques either by simultaneous
recordings or by the post-hoc integration of separate recordings. Such combined studies
promise novel insights into the spatio-temporal dynamics of pain processing in the
human brain.
