Somatosensation II Flashcards
What are the two aspects of pain?
Sensory and affective
What is sensory pain?
Location, intensity, duration and quality
What is affective pain?
Unpleasantness (painfulness) or effects on arousal, mood and behaviour
What are nociceptors?
Neurons specialised for detection of painful stimuli
How does the skin differentiate between nociceptive and non-nociceptive stimuli?
Thermoreceptors respond above normal skin temp at a level rate, whereas nociceptors gradually increase beyond the thermoreceptor level
What is the difference between A delta and C fibres?
A delta fibres conduct quicker
What is the TRPV1 receptor involved in?
The transduction of noxious heat
How do the TRPV1 receptors work?
Noxious heat opens the channel, which allows calcium and sodium ions to depolarise it
How is nociceptive pain maintained after injury?
Inflammatory soup of cytokines, prostaglandins and small signalling molecules keep the depolarisation going
What is hyperalgesia?
Increased pain sensitivity
What is allodynia?
Painful response to normally non-painful stimuli
What does substance P cause?
Stimulation of mast cells and vasodilation
Where are dorsal horn interneurons located?
Superficial and deep layers of the dorsal horn
Where do the dorsal neurones get their synaptic input from?
C and A delta fibres
What does multimodal mean?
Receive convergent nociceptive and non-nociceptive inputs
What causes referred pain?
Dorsal horn interneurons receiving convergent inputs from visceral afferents