L’indifférence congénitale à la douleur

Toward a theory of pain: Relief of chronic pain by prefrontal leucotomy, opiates, placebos, and hypnosis.

“…In fact, since this 5 can discriminate the sharp quality of heat stimulation, McMurray was able to establish in the patient a "threshold" close to the normal heat pain threshold. Similarly, Ford and Wilkins (1938), Kunkle and Chapman (1943), Boyd and Nie (1949), Jewesbury (1951), Westlake (1952), andJ6quier andDeller (1956) have reported that their 5s had no difficulty differentiating and localizing a nociceptive stimulus; they could, for example, easily discriminate between the blunt and pointed end of a pin and had no difficulty localizing the pinprick.…”

“…Investigators who performed extensive neurological examination of their 5s (Boyd & Nie, 1949;Arbuse et al, 1949;McMurray, 1950;Jewesbury, 1951;Rose, 1953;Madonick, 1954;Jequier & Deller, 1956) report that all tests were essentially normalnormal reflexes, normal skull and spine X ray, normal pneumoencephalogram, normal electroencephalogram, etc. Arbuse et al (1949) have emphasized that there is no indication in their case, or in any other reported case, of a lesion in any specific part of the brain.…”