I remember hearing somewhere that your brain has no pain receptors, as if something touches or damages it, you’re already dead, there’s no need for it to feel pain. Could it be it feels pressure rather than a genuine pain? Or is this total bollocks?
In: Biology
Theres a lot to talk about here:
1- Yes it is true that the brain tissue itself is incapable of feeling pain. However, the tissues surrounding the brain; the meninges, do feel pain.
2- In ischemic strokes: i.e. strokes where there is lack of blood flow, pain isn’t a symptom. I mean yes, you can have a feeling of pins and needles or numbness or a total lack of feeling in the affected members, but not pain.
3- there is one specific type of stroke that causes severe pain. The thalamus is a part of the brain that receives all the cognitive sensations in your body (pain, touch, vibrations, pressure, temperature) and relays all that info to specific parts of the brain to be interpreted. A stroke specifically in the thalamus screws up it’s ability to properly relay that info and as a result you will feel intense pain triggered by the slightest of touch.
4- Hemorrhagic strokes caused by a berry aneurysm that has ruptured causes a severe headache. Sometimes known as a thunderclap headache. But the pain isn’t happening in the brain; it’s happening in the blood vessels around the brain and also caused by the inflamed meninges.
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