peripheral mechanisms of pain Flashcards
sensation of pain is
the localization and intensity of the stimuli
the affective component of pain is
the emotional response to pain
acute pain is
short term and has an identifiable source (pricking a finger)
chronic pain is
long term and has a frequently non-identified source
normal pain is mediated by what type of fibers
a-delta and c-fiber
are a-delta fibers myelinated
yes, lightly
conduction velocity of a-delta vs c-fibers
a-delta fastest
size difference b/w a-delta and c-fibers
a-delta is larger
are c-fibers myelinated
nope
neuropeptide content of a-delta vs. c-fibers
a-delta has limited neuropeptide content whereas many c-fibers have neuropeptides. there are multiple types of c-fibers (peptidergic vs nonpeptidergic)
what type of channels do the a-delta fibers use
TTX sensitive, Na channels
what type of channels do the c-fibers use
TTX sensitive and TTX-resistant fibers
what types of pain/nociceptive specifity do a-delta fibers have
specific to MECHANICAL STIMULI (limited responses to heat and chemical stimuli)
what types of pain/nociceptive specificity does a c-fiber have
specific to mechanical, chemical, thermal. some are even polymodal (respond to several of these!).
pain sensed by a-delta vs. c-fibers
a-delta is “1st pain”: fast, sharp, well localized
c-fiber is “2nd pain”: slow, dull, burning pain that is poorly localized
pain transduction uses what types of receptors/channels
ENaCs (may play a role in mechanical nociception) and TRP receptors
TRP receptors role in pain transduction
transduce chemical/thermal nociception (maybe mechanical too) and non-noxious thermal transduction and mediate chemesthesis (chemical sensation like the spiciness of food)
TRP receptors play what role in tooth pain
they are located on odontoblasts
Chemesthesis is the detected by what type of fiber
c-fibers..and maybe a-delta
what is the vanilloid receptor
a subclass of TRP receptor called TRPV1
vanilloid receptor responds to what stimuli
- capsaicin (in chili peppers)
- heat
- protons
stimulation of the TRPV1 receptor results in what
influx of cations into the nerve fiber (Na and Ca)…which leads to the detection of the stimuli
what branches of the trigeminal nerve play a prominent role in chemesthesis (4)
- ethmoid (within the nose)
- poterior palatine (oral)
- nasopalatine (oral)
- lingual (oral)
here, chemical stimuli have good access to the mucosal tissue and can easily stimulate TRP receptors here
the ethmoid nerve is sensitive to what
smelling salts/ammonia (it is located in the nose)….not through olfactory nerves!
TRP receptors are ____
chemosensitive….different classes of TRP receptors detect different chemicals and have different pain thresholds
chemesthesis has ___ threshold sensitivity
high threshold (compared to taste and olfaction)
can dental compounds activate chemesthesis
yes
can chemesthesis be treatment for certain pains
yes. drugs that contain capsaicin compounds can be used to treat pain…via desensitization