PSY 1101 - Chapter 05: Sensation & Perception (Pt. 3) Flashcards
What are Cutaneous Senses?
Through our skin, we sense more than just touch
ex. wetness of our skin, a cut
What are Receptors?
We have a variety of receptors in our skin to detect the different types of senses mentioned
What are the Mechanoreceptors of the Top Layer of the Skin?
- Merkel Receptor: fires during pressure (touch)
- Meissner Receptor: fires when pressure is absent
What are Mechanoreceptors of the Deeper Layers of the Skin?
- Ruffini cylinder: Stretching of the skin
- Pacinian corpuscle: Vibration, Texture
What are Nociceptors?
They are the sensory receptors that detect, transduce, and transmit information about pain.
- They are found all over our bodies
Why is Pain essential for Survival?
The ability to feel pain is absolutely essential for survival
What is the Complexity of Pain?
The experience of pain is very complex
- How much pain does depend only on tissue damage
- There are a variety of factors that make us feel pain.
Examples: are stress, motivation, and culture could influence our experience of pain
What is the Gate Control Theory?
In the nervous system, we have a neurological state
- S Fibers
- L Fibers
- T Cells
What is the Neurological Gate?
The state of the gate will be linked and associated whether we experience pain or not, and how much of it.
What are Small Nerve Fibers (S-Fibers)?
They mostly carry pain information
- this means when they are activated, the neurological gate is opened, and we are likely to feel pain
What are Large Nerve Fibers (L-Fibers)?
They mostly carry information NOT related to pain, such as
temperature, weight, touch, etc.
- Because of this, the gate is closed, and we are likely to feel little to 0 pain.
What are T-Cells?
They are the middle men between the fibers and the gate
- Must be activated for the gate to open
- Small nerve fibers activate, which activate t-cells
- when they open the gate, and we are likely to feel pain
- When large nerve fibers are activated, t-cells are inhibited, the gate doesn’t open, and we are likely to feel little to no pain as a result.
How does Stimulation affect Pain?
Stimulating certain areas of the brain could close the gate, and we end up feeling little to no pain
How can Beliefs affect Pain?
Beliefs can influence and affect our sense of pain
How can Stress affect Pain?
When we are stressed, we may feel less or more pain
- IT can increase or decrease pain
- it depends on the situation
What are other Factors influencing level of Pain?
- Emotions
- Self-Confidence
- Culture
How can Emotions affect Pain?
when we are happy, we tend to feel less pain for the same injury while we are feeling sad, etc.
How can Self-Confidence affect Pain?
On the days we are confident, we tend to feel less pain for the same injury while we aren’t as confident
How can Culture affect Pain?
same amount of tissue damage is linked and associated with different levels of pain depending on the culture you come from