I would modify the theory slightly by noting that the brain may become hypersensitive to sensations arising from the area that was originally damaged, even after it has healed. Sensations that are otherwise normal can then trigger pain. I went to the website about pain reprocessing therapy and stumbled upon an interview with Alan Gordon where he talked about this. I suspect that high level beliefs about tissue damage etc play a role here also in causing the brain to become hyper focused on sensations coming from a particular region and to interpret them as painful.
Beliefs can be self-reinforcing in predictive processing theory because the higher level beliefs can shape the lower level observations. So the hypersensitisation that Delton has noted can reinforce itself.
I would modify the theory slightly by noting that the brain may become hypersensitive to sensations arising from the area that was originally damaged, even after it has healed. Sensations that are otherwise normal can then trigger pain. I went to the website about pain reprocessing therapy and stumbled upon an interview with Alan Gordon where he talked about this. I suspect that high level beliefs about tissue damage etc play a role here also in causing the brain to become hyper focused on sensations coming from a particular region and to interpret them as painful.
Something else that comes to mind here is the rubber hand illusion. Watch this video—and look at the flinches! Interesting, eh?
edit: (ok, the rubber hand illusion isn’t clearly related, but it’s interesting!)
Just to add to this:
Beliefs can be self-reinforcing in predictive processing theory because the higher level beliefs can shape the lower level observations. So the hypersensitisation that Delton has noted can reinforce itself.