Abstract

Harris (1999) proposed that pain can arise in the absence of tissue damage because changes in the cortical representation of the painful body part lead to incongruences between motor intention and sensory feedback. This idea, subsequently termed the sensorimotor theory of pain, has formed the basis for novel treatments for pathological pain. Here we review the evidence that people with pathological pain have changes to processes contributing to sensorimotor function: motor function, sensory feedback, cognitive representations of the body and its surrounding space, multisensory processing, and sensorimotor integration. Changes to sensorimotor processing are most evident in the form of motor deficits, sensory changes, and body representations distortions, and for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), fibromyalgia, and low back pain. Many sensorimotor changes are related to cortical processing, pain, and other clinical characteristics. However, there is very limited evidence that changes in sensorimotor processing actually lead to pain. We therefore propose that the theory is more appropriate for understanding why pain persists rather than how it arises.

Original languageEnglish
Article number104735
JournalNeuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
Volume139
Early online date15 Jun 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 31 Aug 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
ADV received funding from the GW4 BioMed Medical Research Council (United Kingdom) Doctoral Training Partnership ( 1793344 ). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors

Funding

ADV received funding from the GW4 BioMed Medical Research Council (United Kingdom) Doctoral Training Partnership ( 1793344 ). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Keywords

  • Body representation
  • Chronic pain
  • Motor function
  • Multisensory
  • Pathological pain
  • Peripersonal space
  • Sensorimotor
  • Sensorimotor integration
  • Sensory functioning

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology
  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Behavioral Neuroscience

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