pain Essay

p.483 The cell bodies of primary-order neurons or pain-transmitting neurons reside in the dorsal root ganglia just lateral to the spine along the sensory pathways that penetrate the posterior part of the cord. The second order neurons are found in the dorsal horn (p.484) Most nociceptive information tranvels by means of ascending columns in the lateral spinothalamic tract (also called the anterolateral funiculus). The principal target for nociceptive afferents is the thalamus (the major relay station of sensory information in general) Third order neurons project to portions of the CNS involved in the processing and interpretation of pain, the chief areas being the reticular and limbic systems and cerebral cortex. (p 484)

The spinal cord is the final common pathway from the brain to the muscles. It controls all the sensory inputs received from different locations throughout the body. The spinal cord also controls voluntary muscle responses. Some elementary reflexes are local to the spinal cord, but voluntary muscle

The cervical spinal nerve C3-5 innervate the phrenic nerve. These are the lower motor neurons.

a) The structures and the afferent division of the peripheral nervous system that are involved in

Pain receptors in the skin sense pain and send signals through the spinal cord. Once the signals arrive at the brain, several parts of the brain begin to process it instead of just one part.

A and Cδ fibers of the first order neurons carrying nociceptive signals from the periphery,

The dying cardiac cells from the heart stimulated visceral afferents which followed the sympathetic fibers to the spinal cord. The reason the referred pain was in the left shoulder was because the visceral afferents enter the spinal cord between T1 to T4, which is the same location that somatic sensory fibers through the posterior roots. Both the somatic sensory fibers and the visceral afferents synapse on interneurons and secondary neurons which causes the brain to be unable to distinguish between the two signals (Drake 114). This causes the pain to be felt in the left

Nociceptors are free nerve endings in the afferent peripheral nervous system (PNS) that selectively respond to different stimuli. The differences are related to the stimulus which they respond to and the properties of the nerve fibers associated with them. There are three types A, B and C groups based on their diameter. There are numerous types of nerve fibers that have nociceptors. These are the free endings at the

In the analgesic effect, opioids influence mostly the central nervous systems. The primary type of receptors

H. Sannu has experienced two devastating events: loss of my elination of peripheral nerves and below-the-knee amputation of a leg. Sannu has been experiencing sensations in a limb that had no sensation prior to the amputation. How might this be possible?

Observing the behavioral changes in rat before and after removal of the cortex, and using nociception stimulation according to the operational conditioned response method, it could be demonstrated that the cerebral cortex takes part in the mechanism of pain control in acupuncture.

The spinal cord and the brain are the main parts of the central nervous system. The spinal cord is aligned from the base of the brain, through the back, which allows the body to move and have sensation. The spinal cord contains dendrites, supporting cells, and axons, long nerve fibers, that attach to the brain to carry out messages. The axons have sheaths of insulation called myelin and the dendrites receive signals from other dendrites. Dendrites actually make

In the mix of the newly formed neural pathways are pathways that aren’t all accountable for pain transmission. These neurons sprout into the dorsal horn, an area that transfers nociceptive afferent inputs, causing central sensitization. Central sensitization is the expansion of neuronal fields and excitability in a certain region of the body. Different neurotransmitters like substance P, neurokinins, and tachykinins conciliate an increase of activity at receptors important for controlling synaptic plasticity, known as NMDA receptors. Following this is a change in firing patterns of central nociceptive neurons, known as the “windup affect.” According to Jenson Nikolajsen (2001), stump or phantom pain in human amputees can be evoked by monotonous stimulation at the location of the stump. The “windup phenomenon” may cause a decrease in the intersegmental inhibitory devices at the level of the spinal cord. This results in spinal disinhibition and nociceptive inputs extending to supra spinal areas. (Subedi & Grossberg, 2011, pg. 2). This may be another potential cause for phantom limb pain due to the absence of afferent involvement and deviations at the level of the spinal cord (Subedi & Grossberg, 2011, pg.

The CNS contains the brain and spinal cord. Its main functions include: processing, integrating, and coordinating sensory information and motor instructions. The sensory data conducts information that is being processed from internal and external conditions the body is experiencing. Motor commands regulate and control peripheral organs (skeletal muscles). The brain functions under memory, emotions, learning, and intelligence. The PNS consist of the neural tissue found outside of the CNS. It functions in sending data to the CNS which motor commands are than carried out to the peripheral tissues/systems. Multiple nerve fibers send sensory data and motor commands in the PNS. The nerves that assist with transmitting data include the cranial nerves and spinal nerve. However, the PNS can be divided into afferent (to bring in) and efferent (to bring out) divisions of transferring data. The afferent division functions in bringing in sensory data to the CNS. Sensory structures are receptors that detect internal/external environmental change and adjusting accordingly. The efferent division functions in carrying out motor commands from the CNS to glands, muscles, and adipose tissue. The efferent division contains somatic

Pain is something that connects all of us. From birth to death we can identify with each other the idea and arguably the perception of it. We all know we experience it, but what is more important is how we all perceive it. It is known that there are people out there with a ‘high’ pain tolerance and there are also ones out there with a ‘low’ pain tolerance, but what is different between them? We also know that pain is an objective response to certain stimuli, there are neurons that sense and feel pain and there are nerve impulses that send these “painful” messages to the brain. What we don’t know is where the pain