Although neuroscientists are adept at studying pain, animal models fail to account for its “affective-motivational” component – that is, pain’s emotional, cognitive, and contextual features. Indeed, physiological indicators have less of an impact on a patient’s prognosis after a painful injury than psychological and social factors such as depression or poor coping skills.
尽管神经科学家长于研究疼痛，但动物模型无法解释其中的“情感动机”要素，即疼痛的情感、感知和情景特征。事实上，对于病人在痛苦伤害后会出现哪些症状，生理指标的影响不如抑郁或调整力不足等心理指标。问题在于主观手段的研究难度要大得多——不仅是因为它们伴随着高安慰剂反应率。