- Joined
- Feb 20, 2021
Obviously, there's no way to know with certainty, and multiple brain regions are involved in nociception. However, I'm pretty sure that if she does experience pain, her remaining brain isn't able to interpret it in a way that we would recognize as "feeling". Over and over again in this thread, I marvel at how difficult it is to even conceptualize existing without higher brain function. We just don't have language to describe experiencing something like pain without being conscious of it.I've been catching up on Tard Baby General, and user Cuddle Striker (I won't summon them unnecessarily) noted back in 2020 regarding a different baby that (paraphrasing) if you have a brain stem plus even a tiny bit more, then not only can you experience pain, but basically your whole life is pain. All you'd know is pain. I think this was in reference to Kayli, but not sure.
I read this last night and I keep mulling on it - is this true? I've been placating myself in thinking that Luna can't feel anything, really, but since her brain was slowly replaced by cysts I'm worried there's enough matter there for pain. Someone please tell me I'm misunderstanding because it's making me Sad On The Internet.
The insult to her brain was extensive. I don't think that she has enough cortical tissue left to be aware of pain (sorry, I know I bang on too often about how little cortex I think she has). It's possible that some of the midbrain structures responsible for pain perception are intact and able to react appropriately to nociceptive stimulus, but without higher cognitive function, it's not interpreted as pain per se.
We do know that Luna has cortical visual impairment, which means that her eyes, retinas, and optic nerves are all normal and function as they should, but her brain is so fucked that it cannot interpret visual stimulus; thus, she is unable to "see". I think something similar can be said about her perception of pain. The "ow!" signals might still reach her brain, but it is not able to interpret them as unpleasant.
Pain perception in disorders of consciousness is a hotly contested topic, so feel free to reject my input, but as a brain person, it's really hard for me to imagine a way that Luna is possibly experiencing pain as you and I know it. I'll be back with sources when I'm not at work.
Kayli is an intriguing comparison. Her brain is (was?) fucked up, but compared to Luna, she's a Rhodes scholar. I'd buy that she experiences pain before I'd ever believe that Luna does. Even the mice used in scientific research have a more convincing claim to consciousness than Luna, and their brains are literally smooth (and tiny).
Tl,dr: Just read what @FarmVille said so much more succinctly above.