naure.com
Human BodySurprise 4/5Difficulty 4/5Reviewed on September 15, 2026

The human brain itself has no pain receptors, which allows awake brain surgery to be performed without causing pain to the brain tissue.

Why it is true

Although the brain processes pain signals from all over the body, the brain tissue itself lacks nociceptors, allowing for conscious surgical interventions to map critical functions.

Source: Neuroscience Today

Would you rather be asked first?

This is the reading side of the site, so the answer is in the sentence above — that is the whole point of it. Test yourself works the other way round: the question comes on its own, and the fact and the explanation only appear once you have answered.

Test yourself →10-question challenge

Related facts

More in Human Body

See all →