top of page
Search
Writer's pictureRomit Chunduri

The Concept of Pain



Hello everyone, and welcome to my tenth blog post. Today we will be talking in-depth about the causes and reasoning behind pain in the body.

Pain is an unpleasant sensation that warns you that something is amiss. It might be constant, throbbing, stabbing, agonizing, pinching, or characterized in a variety of various ways. Sometimes it's only a bother, like a little headache. Other times, it may be debilitating.

Causes of Pain:

Pain is the brain's primary warning signal when something is awry with the body. Pain is a sensory and emotional experience that signifies tissue injury or the potential for tissue damage, making the experience unpleasant and disturbing.

Nociceptors are particular sensory neurons that respond to the impact of anything like stubbing your toe. Nociceptor receptors are sensitive to stimuli that induce tissue injury. They react to intense stimuli and will alert you when something is actually threatening. Gently touching the door jamb is not hazardous. You might shatter a bone if you kick it too hard. Different nociceptors are sensitive to various painful stimuli, including thermal (heat or cold), mechanical (wounds), and chemical stimuli (toxins or venoms).

Inflammation is caused by the release of different substances at the site of injury. This inflammation causes nerve impulses that keep you feeling pain so you can protect the trauma. Prostaglandins increase the sensitivity of pain receptors, making pain seem more acute. A long-term injury may cause neural system modifications that increase felt pain even in the absence of pain triggers. Rather than being caused by an injury, neuropathic pain is produced by an overly sensitive nerve system. Long-term exposure to high blood sugar destroys nerves in the hands and feet, causing them to convey signals of numbness, tingling, burning, or agonizing pain.

Concept of Itching:

Some nociceptors exclusively respond to chemical stimuli that cause itching. Histamine receptors are activated when histamine is released in the body as a result of skin irritation, insect bites, or allergies. When itching receptors sense histamine, molecular channels in their cell membrane open. Other itch-specific receptors have been found that activate when they detect other compounds such as prostaglandins, neuropeptides, and proteases released by the body in response to pain and irritants known as:

  • H1R

  • H2R

  • H3R

  • H4R

Sending and Receiving Signals:

A-delta and C nerve fibers carry pain and itch information to the spinal cord. Because myelinated A-delta fibers protect the nerve, electrons are efficiently channeled and move quicker, allowing you to feel acute, sharp, and immediately recognized pain. Unmyelinated C fibers send information more slowly, and their nerve terminals are more dispersed. They assist you in feeling dull aches that are difficult to pinpoint. Signals go from the spinal cord to the thalamus, which passes them to parts of the cerebral cortex, translating messages into conscious experience. When you are aware, you may choose to be more cautious the next time you approach the door.


Works Cited:

  • Blumenrath, Sandra. “The Neuroscience of Touch and Pain.” nFacts.Org, www.brainfacts.org/thinking-sensing-and-behaving/touch/2020/the-neuroscience-of-touch-and-pain-013020. Accessed 10 July 2022.


 

That concludes today's blog; thank you for your interest and desire to study about pain in the body since knowing these ideas will make it simpler for you to grasp this concept of neuroscience. We'll continue our neuroscience trip next time with insight into a different aspect of this field. Do contact me if you have any questions, and please let me know how I can improve my posts to make neuroscience more enjoyable.


215 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

コメント


Post: Blog2 Post
bottom of page