Cutaneous senses pt.3 Flashcards
What is Nociception?
your body’s way of detecting painful or potentially harmful stimuli — it’s the sensory process that alerts your brain
Can nociception be cultural?
yes, some cultures dont want you to express pain and others dont
What is th difference between A-delta fibers and C fibers?
A delta = transmit sharp pricking pain
C fibers = transmit burning and throbbing pain
What is “double pain”
Sharp pain followed by dull pain
In specificity theory (theory involved in a and c fibers) where do the fibers transmit to or go to?
fubers enter the spinal cord from the dorsal horn, then to the substantia gelatinosa in the brain
What is CIPA (Congenital insensitivity to Pain with Anhidrosis)
A rare genitic disorder where there is no C or A-delta fibers: slow mental development, lack of sweating, imparied temperature sense (prone to burns)
- most die by age 25, 20% die of fever in first 3 years
What is the Gate Controll theory?
Gate Control Theory suggests that a “gate” mechanism in the spinal cord controls whether pain signals from the body are allowed to pass to the brain.
Activity in L fibers closes the gate, activity in S fibers opens the gate
Why does rubbing reduce pain?
rubbing activates A-beta fibers (inhibits pain signals)
How are pain signals reduced?
by endogeneous opiods (natural pain killers) or naloxone
What can Naloxone do?
wipe out the effects of a placebo
What is Synesthesia?
Cross-modal association = where stimulation of one sense involuntarily triggers another — like “hearing colors” or “tasting words.”
rare: 1 in 23, women more likely
How would you describe synesthesia to someone?
- its genaric (not specific)
- its “one way” - someone who sees colors when hearing words wont hear words when viewing colors
- its idiosyncratic (theres different experiences to the same stimulus)
What is Ramachandrans theory on Synesthetes?
that they have more neural connections because of a lack of pruning
What is Grossenbachers theory on Synesthetes?
there is less inhibition in synesthetes
