Pain perception as a model for the study of consciousness.

The pain model seeks to determine the characteristics of physical systems that are sufficient for the emergence of consciousness. Although many theories presently under investigation focus on the cognitive mechanisms of highly evolved systems, the pain model is especially valuable because it aspires to understand the evolution of primitive awareness systems. The primary problem with past attempts to study primitive awareness has been the inability to recognize consciousness in simpler organisms; however, current research has suggested a "self-report" animal model based on rodent u