Neuroscience The Medial Pain System and Limbic-Motor Interactio Frank A. Middleton

Question 1

What is the difference between nocioception and pain?

Answer 1

Nocioception is any process in the peripheral or central nervous system that is associated with a noxious of highly-unpleasant stimulus. SENSATION
Pain is the conscious and very often emotional experience associated with noxious stimuli. The pathways that support nocioception and pain processing rely on somewhat different sets of structures. EMOTION

Question 2

What are the five main functions of the medial pain system?

Answer 2

1. Limbic and autonomic activation
2. Learning and anticipation
3. Nocifensive behavior
4. Empathy
5. Inhibition

Question 3

What are the three main ascending spinal pain systems?

Answer 3

1. Direct anterior lateral pathway
2. Indirect anterior or lateral pathways
3. Posterior medial pathways

Question 4

What is a posterior midline myelotomy?

Answer 4

It is a procedure to treat intractable pain caused by the mix-up of afferent and visceral afferent fibers.

Question 5

What parts of the reticular formation are highly involved in pain processing

Answer 5

Parabrachial areas
Locus ceruleus
Raphe nucleus
Nucleus gigantocellularis

Question 6

Subdivisions of _____ are important for pain processing as well as visceromotor and somatomotor responses to pain stimuli.

Answer 6

Reticular formation

Question 7

What is a nocifensive behavior?

Answer 7

Behaviors to avoid noxious events

Question 8

When subjects are asked to rate the unpleasantness of a noxious heat stimulus to the back of the hand, they strongly activate______, which provide for autonomic activation.

Answer 8

the ACC and PAG

Question 9

When subjects are asked to locate where the thermal stimulus is, the ________ is activated with the sensory thalamus, but NOT the ACC or PAG.

Answer 9

MCC

Question 10

Ascending information is largely transmitted through rostral _____. and ascends to influence forebrain centers. In contrast, the responses and largely transmitted via caudal RF to lower motor and autonomic centers.

Answer 10

RF

Question 11

What is the function of mesencephalic and rostral pontine reticular formation?

Answer 11

To modulate forebrain activity

Question 12

What is the function of caudal pontine and medullary RF?

Answer 12

To control premotor coordination of lower somatic and visceral motor neuronal pools

Question 13

Fear conditioning is a learning event in the medial pain system and depends on connections in the brain with the:

Answer 13

amygdala, thalamus

Question 14

CNV stands for:

Answer 14

Contingent negative variation

Question 15

How does the amygdala receive nociceptive information?

Answer 15

Via the midline and intralaminar thalamic nuclei

Question 16

LTP like conditioning of responses occurs with:

Answer 16

chronic pain

Question 17

CNV, contingent negative variation in EEG recordings that appears after fear-inducing stimuli, are identified in what parts of the brain?

Answer 17

ACC
Medial motor areas (SMA, CMA)
MITN thalamus

Question 18

Explain maladaptive learning and central sensitization in the pain system.

Answer 18

Sensitized nocioceptors contribute to central sensitization. Injury or inflammation results in greater calcium entry and long periods of abnormal depolarization in spinal cord neurons and their targets. This process results in the near constant firing of nociceptive signals and chronic pain.

Question 19

What is anterior cingulotomy?

Answer 19

A tx for chronic pain, whereby the patient can still feel the stimulus, but is no longer bothered by it.

Question 20

What is MCS?

Answer 20

Magnetic cortical stimulation, a pain relief treatment, which correlates with activity in the PAG (pons) ad ACC (thalamus)

Question 21

What is mental stress induced analgesia (SIA)?

Answer 21

Brain activities like math can make you forget about pain

Question 22

How does evidence support the separation of functions into several classes based on functional activation and connections in the medial pain system?

Answer 22

1. Regions of the MCC are involved in nociceptive signal localization due to inputs from the lateral system
2. Anterior regions assign emotional valence to nociceptive signals (learning and memory). These areas receive different afferents.