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Brain and Behaviour > Pain > Flashcards

Pain Flashcards

1
Q

What is pain?

A

An unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage

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2
Q

Why is pain important?

A
  1. Promotes avoidance of situations which may decrease biological fitness
  2. Promotes resting behaviour that either enhances recovery or modifies behaviour so that further injury or death becomes less likely
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3
Q

What type of receptors detect pain?

A

Nocioceptors

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4
Q

How is pain sensed throughout the skin?

A

Free nerve endings

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5
Q

How is pain felt from internal organs?

A

In the local area on the outside of the body

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6
Q

How is intense pressure, stretching, shrinking and pinching felt?

A

High threshold mechanoreceptors, due to depolorisation and calcium influx

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7
Q

Vanilloid receptors and temperature gated channels sense what types of pain?

A

Heats, acids and capsaicin

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8
Q

What do vanilloid receptors flux?

A

Sodium, leading to an action potential

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9
Q

Where are vanilloid receptors found?

A

In the free nerve endings

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10
Q

What is released following tissue damage?

A

ATP

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11
Q

What is the circuit that causes you to withdraw from a painful stimulus?

A

Spinal reflex reaction - neuron, spinal cord interneuron - efferent motor neuron

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12
Q

What is the name of the neurons that send messages about the initial pain to the brain (before you’ve realised the pain has occurred)?

A

Procioceptors

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13
Q

What are the features of procioceptors?

A

Large diameter and myelinated

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14
Q

Name the fibres that carry messages about the first pain, and localisation of the painful stimulus?

A

Delta fibres

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15
Q

What fibres provide the secondary pain that is the continuing dull ache?

A

C fibres

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16
Q

Name the 2 pathways to the brain

A
  1. Somatosensory cortex via the thalamus
  2. To the emotional cortex, the insula and cingulate
17
Q

What is hyperalgesia?

A

Noxious stimuli produce exaggerated pain sensation

18
Q

What is allodynia?

A

Non-noxious stimuli produce pain sensation, eg touching burnt skin

19
Q

What is released in peripheral sensitisation?

A
  1. Chemicals released as a result of tissue damage such as hydrogen and ATP
  2. Neuropeptides which trigger in the neighbouring blood supply the release of plasma
20
Q

Histamine and NGF are examples of what type of cells?

A

Mast cells

21
Q

Proteases cleave extracellular peptides to create what?

A

Bradykinin

22
Q

What do COX enzymes convert arachidonic acid to?

A

Protaglandins

23
Q

How does the nocioceptor become modulated so that it responds at lower pain thresholds?

A
  1. Components of the inflammatory soup such as bradykinin, NGF and prostaglandin feedback to their own receptors on the nocioceptor neurons
  2. The VR1 receptor is then phosphorylated and the threshold for firing changes
  3. A sensory nerve specific sodium channel is phosphorylated so threshold voltage for firing is decreased, making the nocioceptor more excitable and hypersensitive to stimulation
24
Q

Why does pain increase sensitivity?

A
  1. Reminds you that you have hurt yourself
  2. Promoting the area for recovery
25
Q

How do neuroplastic changed at the synapses in the spinal cord occur?

A
  1. Nocioceptive afferents release glutamate and substance P
  2. Substance P activates the KN1 receptor which leads to phosphorylation of the NMDA and AMPA receptors
  3. This means they become more responsive to glutamate and neurons become more excitable
  4. Substance P diffused to to other synapses and so wind up pain can spread causing generalised sensitisation to painful stimuli
26
Q

What is gate-control theory?

A

When you hob up and down or blow on the area and it appears to reduce pain

27
Q

Stimulation of the non-nocioceptive mechanoreceptors in the vicinity of the injury activates neurons where? The activation of these neurons stops what neuron from firing?

A
  1. Dorsal horn
  2. Spinothalamic neuron
28
Q

Competition between what two neurons switches off C fibres and prevents the pain signal from getting to the brain?

A

The nocioceptor and the inhibition from the propcioceptors

29
Q

How much were burns patients pain ratings reduced by when in the VR condition?

30
Q

What is stress-induced analgesia?

A

Adaptive response to down-regulate pain

31
Q

What is naloxine challenge?

A

An opioid antagonist which blocks the analgesic effect

32
Q

Give an example of stress-induced analgesia

A

Soldiers escaping danger who don’t feel the pain of their wounds until in safety

33
Q

Name three methods of reducing pain

A

Opiates, NSAIDS, cannabinoids, sodium channle blockers

34
Q

What is neuropathic pain?

A

Pain caused by damage to the nerves themselves n

Brain and Behaviour (10 decks)

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