Lecture 5 Flashcards
What is nociception
nociception = pain perception and it is different from pain experience
What is pain perception sensitive to?
pain perception is very sensitive to environmen
UNDERSTAND THE DIAGRAM ON CHAPTER 5 SLIDE 4
Where does the exchange between mom and baby happen for oxygen, waste products, and nutrients?
We mentioned that there is a membrane in the intravilli space where the exchange actually happens. This is where oxygen, Co2 etx get transferred. When you’re studying for an exam and are looking at a diagram, know the concepts of the words she talks about in the slides.
What does pain lead to the release of? How does this work to regulate contractions with oxytocin? When is this mostly true?
Pain leads to the release of
* stress-related hormones and neurotransmitters
* endogenous opioids (when pain reaches a relatively high level (happens at different time for different people (pain tolerance)) it also releases endogenous opiods which try to facilitate pain relief. )
What these hormones do is interact with oxytocin which is the hormone that leads to uterine contractions. As we said contractions swithc from neuronal to hormonal control. Because pain is related to these other hormones, they will try to reduce the oxytocin, but we need oxytocin to contract. These stress related hormones reduce the level of contraction in this way. This is mostly true in stage 1 of labour. In stage, 2 stress hormones are different. Stress hormones in stage 1 (dialation) leads to the slowing down of labour and therefore slowing down contractions.
How can pain reduce the strength and duration of labour contractions?
Pain can suppress the release of oxytocin (the hormone that causes labour contractions). In this way, pain can serve to reduce the strength and duration of contractions, especially during stage 1 of labour.
When can contractions actually injur the mother? Why?
in rare occaisions really strong contractiosn can hurt the mother because the tissues of the mother aren’t getting supplied with oxygen either.
Does pain serve to prevent injury to the mom and baby during labour? How? (2 ways)
How might this be a problem when thinking about epidurals?
Pain during labour as the body’s way of preventing injury to mom and baby
The reason why labour pain can eb a way of preventing injury is because pain leads to the release of a number of substances in the body. The higher the painful sensation the more of these will be released. its the body’s way of coping with painful sensations.
The reason it can prevent injury is that it reduces some of the oxygen deprivation (slowing down labour through the release of these hormones decreases some of the oxygen deprivation). Every labour conraction leads to the slowing down or shutting down of the exchange of nutrients, oxygen etc hat needs to go to the baby. This is the natural pain process and it results in prevention of injury because it naturally regulates the strengths of contractions because if the body sees it as pain then the stress hormones will be released. In the case of epidurals, they remove sensation of the organs (the systemic one), the opiods coming from the epidural slow down labour and sometimes it stops, and that slowing down and stoping leads to the introduction of pitocin. They essentially shift control of the labour from the body to external chemicals.
why might a soldier with an open womb may be doing things without realizing the pain?
when pain reaches a relatively high level (happens at different time for different people (pain tolerance)) it also releases endogenous opiods which try to facilitate pain relief.
What hormone causes labour contractions?
oxytocin
Is there a difference between pain, nociception, and harm?
we are trying to distinguish and relate the concept of pain, nociception and harm . In our common culture these things tend to be mixed up but something that is really important is that pain is not always equated with harm.
Is pain more than nociception?
yes
What is nociception?
The encoding and processing of harmful stimuli in the nervous system, leading to a body’s ability to sense potential harm
How are nociception and pain different?
Nociception is not the same as pain
* Nociception: the sensory process that produces the
nerve signals that trigger pain
* Pain: a subjective experience (aching sensation)
What is a good exmaple of how pain and nociception are different?
example is phantom pain with people who have had an amputated leg or arm. The nociception fibres do not exist in this case but pain does exist. nociception is the lower level of processing of sensation and pain leads to the higher level of processing.
What does lower level processing refer to? Is nociception lower of higher level processing? is pain lower or higher?
Usually lower level processing refers to levels that come towards the periphery of the body and the higher ones go towards the brain
nociception is the lower level of processing of sensation and pain leads to the higher level of processing.
how is nociception a specific part of our pain perception mechanism?
nociception is a very specific part of our perception mechanism that is dedicated to potentially harmful stimuli, the harm is not necessarily actual harm, you can feel pain to avoid ignoring a potential danger.
What is nociception usually identified with? How does this differ from pain?
nociception is identified with noxious sensory input (any changes to the body that could cause potential harm). Pain is actually the private experience that can be informed by the noxious sensory input, or it can inform the noxious sensory input.
What is an exmaple of how judgments can influence the experience of pain?
Ex: if you believe the bible saying that labour pain is punishment from eve then this expectation will change your experience of pain.
KNOW THE DIAGRAM ON LECTURE 5 SLIDE 9
What is the McGill pain scale? What is problematic about it?
This is a pain scale used in a lot of medical and research. It only refers to the sensory aspect of pain but it is problematic because it doesn’t consider this other framework. This is an exampel of how if you see results coming from this scale, you should take it with a grain of salt.
