Murphy - Pain

Question 1

Individuals w higher pain sensitivity show greater activation in areas association w/ affective-motivational pathways such as:

Answer 1

Anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)

Pre-frontal cortex (PFC)

Somatosensory Cortex (SI)

Question 2

COMT (Catecholamine-o-methyltransferase) can be low , average, or high sensitivity for pain. It is involved in the regulation of ?

Answer 2

Enkephalin (endogenous opioid) and catecholamines (like norepinephrine)

Question 3

What parts of the brain, which are the same as stimulated in cognitive behavior therapy to decrease eratic emotional behaviour, are stimulated in the placebo effect>

Answer 3

Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (cognitive control)

Orbitofrontal cortex (evaluative and reward info)

Periaqueductal gray (enkephalin producing neurons, modulation of dorsal raphe nucleus)

Question 4

How does the periaqueductal gray modulate pain.

Answer 4

Stimulation of enkephalin-producing neurons modulates the dorsal raphe nucleus to send more serotonin to spine