Pain affect without pain sensation in a patient with a postcentral lesion

We report findings from clinical examination and cutaneous laser stimulatio n in a 57-year-old male, who suffered from a right-sided postcentral stroke . In this patient, we were able to demonstrate (i) a dissociation of discri minative and affective components of pain perception and, for the first tim e in humans, (ii) the dependence of sensory-discriminative pain component a nd first pain sensation on the integrity of the lateral pain system. (C) 19 99 International Association for the Study of Pain. Published by Elsevier S cience B.V.