Theme 3: Responding to Symptoms Flashcards
what is involved in this theme
pain gate
classical conditioning
operant conditioning
social learning theory
what is the pain gate
mechanism in the spinal cord in which pain signals can be sent up to the brain to be processed to accentuate the possible perceived pain or attenuate it at the spinal cord
pain definition
unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage or described in terms of such damage, refers to a perception which is a subjective response to a noxious stimulus
what is the point of pain
acts to warn against possible threats to organisms well-being, initial pain experience provokes avoidance, removing source of potential further damage, limits activity to force the animal to rest and help healing to modify behaviour
what is pain affected by
Context, mood, cognitive set, chemical/structural state, injury
what is the intensity theory
direct connection from location in body to pain centre in the brain, body separate from the mind so couldn’t account for presence of pain in absence of damage, phantom limb, placebo effect, forms of persistent pain, couldn’t account for role of psychological factors
gate open
signals can pass through and will be sent to brain to perceive the pain
gate closed
pain signals restricted form travelling up to the brain, sensation of pain won’t be received
location of the pain gate
dorsal horn of the spinal cord in the substantia gelatinosa, interneurons here synapse to the primary afferent where the mechanism occurs, substantia gelatinosa modulates sensory information coming in from primary afferent neurons
what are the 3 types of primary afferent in the pain gate theory
A beta
A delta
C fibres
A beta
large diameter, fast transmission due to myelination, activated by non-noxious stimulus such as light, touch, pressure and hair movement
a delta
smaller diameter, thin myelination, stimulated by noxious stimuli such as pain and temperature, sharp intense tingling sensations
c fibres
slowest transmission as are unmyelinated, activated by pain and temperature for prolonged burning sensations
what happens if neurons are stimulated by a beta fibers
inhibitory response= no pain signals= pain gate closed
what happens if neurons are stimulated by A delta or C
- If interneurons are stimulated by A-delta or C fibers= excitatory response= pain signal sent to brain= modulation= descending modulation and perceived as varying amounts of pain
excitatory neurotransmitters in pain gate
: glutamate (activates NMDA) and substance P (cause vasodilation, inflammation and pain)
inhibitory neurotransmitters in the pain gate
GABA
what is classical conditioning
form of learning in which a neutral stimulus comes to elicit a response after being associated with a stimulus that already elicits that response