Figure 7.9: Brain areas involved in three components of pain experience Pain input from tracts through the spinal cord and midbrain is relayed by one portion of the thalamus to the somatosensory cortex and by another portion to the insular cortex and certain portions of the limbic system. These areas, in turn, send output to the prefrontal cortex. These different areas account for three relatively distinct components of pain experience, described in the figure.
(Based on information reviewed by Price, 2000.)