Can fetuses feel pain?

BMJ

Volumn 332, Issue 7546, 2006, Pages 909-

  Derbyshire, Stuart W G ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ANALGESIC AGENT; DIAZEPAM; FENTANYL;

ABORTION; ANALGESIA; FETAL PAIN; FETUS; FETUS DEVELOPMENT; FETUS GROWTH; GESTATIONAL AGE; HUMAN; MEDICOLEGAL ASPECT; NERVE CELL DIFFERENTIATION; NEUROBIOLOGY; PAIN; PAIN ASSESSMENT; POSTNATAL DEVELOPMENT; PRIORITY JOURNAL; PSYCHOLOGIC ASSESSMENT; REVIEW; RISK BENEFIT ANALYSIS; ARTICLE; MENTAL FUNCTION; NERVOUS SYSTEM; PAIN THRESHOLD; PATHOPHYSIOLOGY; PHYSIOLOGY; PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT;

FETAL DEVELOPMENT; FETUS; GESTATIONAL AGE; HUMANS; MENTAL PROCESSES; NERVOUS SYSTEM; PAIN; PAIN THRESHOLD;

EID: 33646006748     PISSN: 09598138     EISSN: 14685833     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1136/bmj.332.7546.909     Document Type: Article

References (21)

1. Fitzgerald M. The prenatal growth of fine diameter afferents into the rat spinal cord–a transganglionic study. J Comp Neurol 1987; 261: 98–104.
2. Fitzgerald M. Cutaneous primary afferent properties in the hindlimb of the neonatal rat. J Physiol 1987; 383: 79–92.
3. Andrews KA, Fitzgerald M. The cutaneous withdrawal reflex in human neonates: sensitization, receptive fields, and the effects of contralateral stimulation. Pain 1994; 56: 95–101.
4. Hevner RF. Development of connections in the human visual system during fetal mid-gestation: a DiI-tracing study. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol 2000; 59: 385–392.
5. Larroche JC. The marginal layer in the neocortex of a 7 week-old human embryo: a light and electron microscopic study. Anat Embryol 1981; 162: 301–312.
6. Ulfig N, Neudorfer F, Bohl J. Transient structures of the human fetal brain: subplate, thalamic reticular complex, ganglionic eminence. Histol Histopathol 2000; 15: 771–790.
7. Kostovic I, Judas M. Correlation between the sequential ingrowth of afferents and transient patterns of cortical lamination in preterm infants. Anat Rec 2002; 267: 1–6.
8. Glover V, Fisk NM. Fetal pain: implications for research and practice. Br J Obstet Gynaecol 1999; 106: 881–886.
9. Coghill RC, McHaffie JG, Yen YF. Neural correlates of interindividual differences in the subjective experience of pain. Proc Nat Acad Sci USA 2003; 100: 8538–8542.
10. Derbyshire SWG, Whalley MG, Stenger VA, Oakley DA. Cerebral activation during hypnotically induced and imagined pain. Neuroimage 2004; 23: 392–401.
11. Slater R, Cantarella A, Gallella S, Worley A, Boyd S, Meek J, et al. Cortical pain responses in human infants. J Neurosci 2006; 26: 3662–3666.
12. Giannakoulopoulos X, Sepulveda W, Kourtis P, Glover V, Fisk NM. Fetal plasma cortisol and β-endorphin response to intrauterine needling. Lancet 1994; 344: 77–81.
13. Craig KD, Whitfield MF, Grunau RVE, Linton J, Hadjistavropoulos HD. Pain in the preterm neonate: behavioural and physiological indices. Pain 1993; 52: 287–299.
14. Anand KJS, Hickey PR. Pain and its effects in the human neonate and fetus. N Engl J Med 1987; 317: 1321–1329.
15. Mellor DJ, Diesch TJ, Gunn AJ, Bennet L. The importance of ‘awareness’ for understanding fetal pain. Brain Res Rev 2005; 49: 455–471.
16. Hobson P. The cradle of thought: exploring the origins of thinking. London: Macmillan, 2002.
17. Bronfenbrenner U, Ceci SJ. Nature-nurture reconceptualized in developmental perspective: a bioecological model. Psych Rev 1994; 101: 568–586.
18. Goldman-Rakic PS. Development of cortical circuitry and cognitive function. Child Dev 1987; 58: 601–622.
19. Chugani HT. Biological basis of emotions: brain systems and brain development. Pediatrics 1998; 102: S1225–9.
20. Lee SJ, Ralston HJP, Drey EA, Partridge JC, Rosen MA. Fetal pain: a systematic multidisciplinary review of the evidence. JAMA 2005; 294: 947–954.
21. Collett T. Fetal pain legislation: is it viable? Pepperdine Law Review 2003; 30: 161–184.