Physiology and Pathophysiology of Pain Flashcards
What is pain?
Unpleasant sensory and emotional experience which we primarily associated with tissue damage or describe in terms of such damage or both
What are the different parts of the pain pathway?
- Periphery
Detection
Transmission to spinal cord (first order of neurons)
- Spinal cord
Processing
Transmission to brain (thalamus) (second order of neurons)
- Brian
Perception, learning, response
- Modulation
Descending tracts
What is the periphery responsible for in the pain pathway?
Detection
Transmission to spinal cord (first order of neurons)
What is the spinal cord responsible for in the pain pathway?
Processing
Transmission to brain (thalamus) (second order of neurons)
What is the brain responsible for in the pain pathway?
Perception, learning, response
What part of the pain pathway is responsible for modulation?
Descending tracts
What is nociception?
Detection of tissue damage by specialised transducers connected to A-delta and C fibres
Nociception is done by free nerve endings of what fibres?
A-delta fibres
C fibres
What are the 4 different kinds of nerve fibres?
- A alpha
- Myelinated
- Large diameter
- Proprioception, light touch
- A beta
- Myelinated
- Large diameter
- Proprioception, light touch
- A delta
- Lightly myelinated
- Medium diameter
- Nociception (mechanical, thermal, chemical)
- C
- Unmyelinated
- Small diameter
- Nociception (mechanical, thermal, chemical)
- Temperature, itch
Are A alpha fibres myelinated or not?
Myelinated
Are A beta fibres myelinated or not?
Myelinated
Are A delta fibres myelinated or not?
Lightly myelinated
Are C fibres myelinated or not?
Unmyelinated
Describe the diameter of A alpha fibres?
Large diameter
Describe the diameter of A beta fibres?
Large diameter
Describe the diameter of A delta fibres?
Medium diameter
Describe the diameter of C fibres?
Small diameter
What are A alpha fibres responsible for?
Proprioception, light touch
What are A beta fibres responsible for?
Proprioception, light touch
What are A delta fibres responsible for?
Nociception (mechanical, thermal, chemical)
What are C fibres responsible for?
Nociception (mechanical, thermal, chemical)
Temperature, itch
What are the 2 different kinds of matter in the spinal cord?
Grey matter (neurons)
White matter (ascending and descending axons)
What can the grey matter of the spinal cord be divided into?
Ventral, lateral and dorsal horn based on location
What divides the grey matter in the spinal cord into layers?
Rexed laminae
How many layers does rexed laminae divide the grey matter of the spinal cord into?
10 layers based on their cytoarchitecture
What are the different types of neurons contained in the rexed laminae of the spinal cord?
- Low threshold mechanoreceptive neurons
- Located in layer 3 and 4
- Receives input from A beta fibres
- Nociceptive specific neurons
- Located in layer 1 and 2
- Receive input from C and A delta fibres
- Interneurons
- Influence the projection neurons and afferent input
- Wide dynamic range (WDR) neurons
- Layer 5
- Receive input from alpha beta
What layers of rexed laminae contains low threshold mechanoreceptive neurons?
Layer 3 and 4
What layers of rexed laminae contains nociceptive specific neurons?
Layer 1 and 2
What layers of rexed laminae contains wide dynamic range (WDR) neurons?
Layer
From what fibres to low threshold mechanoreceptive neurons receive input?
Alpha-beta fibres
From what fibres do nociceptive specific neurons receive input?
A-delta and C fibres
From what fibres do wide dynamic range (WDR) neurons receive input?
Alpha-beta
What does WDR neurons stand for?
Wide dynamic range neurons
Describe the process of pain perception?
- Primary afferents/1st order neurons
- Cell body in dorsal root ganglion
- First order neuron
- Synapse at spinal cord
- A and C nerve fibres conduct pain, A delta being slightly myelinated medium diameter fibres responsible for fast pain, then dull pain is conducted by small diameter slowly conducting C fibres
- Spinal dorsal horn
- First order synapse
- Rexed lamina 2 and 5
- Neurons which receive the input
- Nociceptive specific
- Low threshold mechanoceptive
- Wide dynamic range
- Axons continue as tracts
- Spinothalamic tract
- Major ascending tract for nociception
- Cell bodies in rexed lamina 1, 2 and 5
- 2 different types are lateral and ventral STT
- Lateral STT terminates in ventroposterior thalamic nuclei which feeds to somatosensory cortex to facilitate the spatial, temporal and intensity discrimination of painful stimuli
- Medial thalamus nuclei receives input from ventral STT, projects to cortical regions such as anterior cingulate and insular cortex as well as other parts of limbic system
- Since limbic system is associated with behaviours, the firing in medial thalamus affects behavioural state
- Anterior cingulate cortex may contribute to affective component of pain experience and modulate the autonomic and motor components of pain
- Brain
- Thalamus is the second relay station
- Contains ventroposterior thalamic nuclei and medial thalamus
- Connections
- Cortex
- Limbic system
- Brainstem
- Descending pathways
- Descending from brain to dorsal horn
- Periaqeductal grey
- Usually decreases pain signal
- Noradrenergic system
Where is the cell body for the primary afferent/1st order neurons in pain reception?
Cell body in dorsal root ganglion
What fibre is responsible for fast pain?
A-delta fibres due to being slightly more myelinated and having medium diameter
What fibre is responsible for dull pain?
C fibres due to being small diameter and unmyelinated
Where is the first order synapse for pain perception?
Spinal dorsal horn
Rexed lamina 2 and 5
What kinds of neurons receive first order synapse in pain reception?
- Nociceptive specific
- Low threshold mechanoceptive
- Wide dynamic range
What do axons continue as after first order synapse for pain perception?
Axons continue as tracts