pain pathways and control Flashcards
What is pain normally triggered by?
damage to tissues
What is the name of the receptor that detects pain?
Nociceptor
What is the first order neuron?
Periphery to the spinal cord
What is the second order neuron?
Goes from the spinal cord to the thalamus
What is the third order neuron?
Goes from the thalamus to the sensory cortex
What are the two different spinothalamic tracts?
Ventral and lateral spinothalamic tract
What pathway does man/ primates have instead of the spinocervicothalamic pathway?
spinothalamic pathway (potentially more evolved version)
What is the purpose of the spinocervicothalamic pathway?
Rapidly transmit pain from the skin to the cerebral cortex
What can you do to test for the spinocervicothalamic pathway?
Light pinching
Where is the fourth neuron for the spinocervicothalamic pathway?
lateral cervical nucleus
What is a difference between the spinocervicothalamic pathway and the spinoreticular pathway in terms of decussation?
The spinoreticular pathway decussates much earlier on
What is the spinoreticular pathway responsible for?
Deep pain/ visceral pain
What are the alpha delta fibres?
fibres that carry rapid/sharp pain, they respond to mechanical and thermal stimuli
What are the C fibres?
unmyelinated and therefore react relatively slowly
they are polymodal which means they respond to many different types of stimuli (chemical, mechanical and thermal)
C fibre activation leads to a slow, burning pain
What system in the brain does the spinoreticular pathway also activate?
The limbic system as there are memories attached to the pain
