Health Psych Final Flashcards
Pain
An unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage.
Clinical Pain
Pain that requires medical treatment
Acute Pain
sharp stinging pain that is short-lived and usually related to tissue damage
Chronic Pain
Dull, burning pain that is long lasting.
May be continuous or intermittent, moderate or severe and felt in any part of the body’s tissue
Reccurent Pain
Episodes of discomfort interspersed with periods in which the individual is relatively pain free, that recur for more than three months
Electromyography (EMG)
Assesses the amount of muscle tensions experienced by pain sufferers
Pain behavior scale
Target behaviors include vocal complaints, facial grimaces, awkward postures, and mobility
Melzacks dimensions of pain
Proposed Gate Control Theory
The gate control theory of pain asserts that non-painful input closes the “gates” to painful input, which prevents pain sensation from traveling to the central nervous system. Therefore, stimulation by non-noxious input is able to suppress pain.
Pain receptors
Free nerve endings: sensory receptors found throughout the body that respond to temperature, pressure, and painful stimuli
Nociceptors: specialized neurons that respond to painful stimuli
Fast nerve fibers
Large myelinated nerve fibers that transmit sharp, stinging pain.
The basis of the fast pain system servicing the skin and mucous membranes
Slow nerve fibers
Small, unmyelinated nerve fibers that carry dull, aching pain.
The basis of the slow pain system servicing all the body tissues except the brain
Substantia Gelatinosa
The dorsal region of the spinal cord where both fast and slow pain fibers synapse with sensory nerves on their way to the brain.
Referred pain
Pain in an area of the body that is sensitive to pain but caused by disease or injury in an area that has few pain receptors.
Substance P
Neurotransmitter secreted by pain fibers in the spinal cord that stimulate the ransmossion cells to send pain signals to the brain.
Glutamate
Continuously stimulates nerve endings at the site of an injury and within the spinal cord, increasing pain messages.
Endorphins
any of a group of hormones secreted within the brain and nervous system and having a number of physiological functions. They are peptides that activate the body’s opiate receptors, causing an analgesic effect. Morphine within
Enkephalins
Endogenous opiods found in nerve endings of cells in the brain and spinal cord that bind to opiod receptors.
Periaqueductal gray (PAG) region
region of the midbrain that plays an important role in the perception of pain. Activates a descending neural pathway that uses serotonin to close the pain gate.
Stress-induced anaglesia
Stress-related increase in tolerance of pain, presumably mediated by the body’s endorphin system (morphine within)
Hysteria
tendency to exaggerate symptoms and use emotional behavior to solve problems
Hypochondriasis
tendency to be overly concerned about health and to over-report body symptoms.
Repetitive strain injury
Occupational disorder first noted in 1980s among keyboard operators and computer.
Opiod Anaglesics
Agonists (excitatory chemicals) act on receptors in the brain and spinal cord to reduce.
Nonopioid analgesics
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
Aspirin, ibuprofen, acetaminophen, and other drugs that relieve pain and reduce inflammation at the site of injured tissue.
