Abstract: A device and methodology is disclosed for the objective measurement of pain in awake human subjects. A variable intensity painful stimulus is given to the subject in a time dependent manner, the patient's brain responses are recorded using an appropriate imaging modality (e.g. functional MR) while the subject indicates the level of discomfort using a "perceptometer" or other similar pain rating device. The pain rating is correlated with the imaging results using a quantitative analysis to characterize the brain's representation of this pain. Color overlays are generated on high resolution anatomical images (MR or other modality) of the brain summarizing the calculated pain related analysis information.