nociception

noun

no·​ci·​cep·​tion ˌnō-sə-ˈsep-shən 

: the perception of a painful or injurious stimulus

In reality, [infants] have all the anatomical and functional components required for nociception, and they react appropriately to painful stimuli.

—Thomas E. Wiswell, The New England Journal of Medicine

called also nociperception