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All this talk of brain = behavior and location of the neurons that cause pain has me thinking of the phenomenon of “mind over matter.” From my experience, adopting such a theory does work. When I tell myself that something isn’t painful, I overcome the pain. I can handle it without reacting/flinching. Example: I had two friends that got tattoos at the same time; one giggled and said it tickled while the other said it was the most painful thing she had experienced in her life. If all of our behavior comes from the brain, how can we account for the differences in pain tolerance between people? How can we account for the different ways people deal with/react to pain? Is it a difference in structure or pathways that accounts for these differences among people? I find it very difficult to deny the power of the mind in dealing with pain because all my life I have seen people overcome great pain with mental strength. I am really posing a question for thought: if Emily Dickinson is right, then are these differences in tolerance and reactions, which could be grouped in with all other behavior, simply a product of the structural make-up of the brain?