Neuroscience of Pain Perception

Pain perception involves separate sensory-discriminative and affective components.

A brain pathway involved in the sensory-discriminative component of pain, including the first pain sensation.

A brain pathway involved in the affective component (emotional aspect) of pain.

A stroke affecting the postcentral gyrus, a brain region that processes sensory information from the body.

The initial sharp, immediate pain sensation.

Part of pain perception related to identifying location and nature of pain.

The emotional or unpleasant feeling associated with pain.

First pain is a sharp, initial pain sensation. Second pain is a dull, throbbing sensation experienced later.

The lateral pain system is responsible for identifying the location and type of pain.

The medial pain system handles the emotional and unpleasant aspects of pain.

A stroke in the right postcentral gyrus can cause sensory deficits on the left side of the body.

Pain perception involves distinct sensory-discriminative and motivational-affective components.

The study of pain perception explores the separation between sensory-discriminative and motivational-affective components, as well as between first and second pain.

The lateral pain system is crucial for experiencing the sensory-discriminative aspect of pain and first pain.

A case study of a patient with a stroke affecting the lateral pain system showed a loss of pain sensation while preserving emotional response to pain.

The study demonstrates a clear distinction between the roles of lateral and medial pain systems in the different aspects of pain perception.

A type of laser commonly used for pain studies. Emits infrared light with a wavelength of 2000 nm and a short pulse duration.

The minimum intensity of a stimulus that causes a person to perceive pain. It's a measure of how sensitive someone is to pain.

A method of pain research that involves applying a focused laser beam to the skin, producing a controlled pain sensation.

The time it takes for a person to respond to a stimulus, like the pain of a laser.

The time between two separate painful stimuli applied to the same person. Helps ensure the stimuli are separate experiences.

The back surface of the hand. Commonly used as a site for pain testing due to the presence of many nerve endings.

The specific location on the skin where the laser is applied to produce pain.

Refers to the opposite side of the body. A pain stimulus on one side of the body is processed by the contralateral hemisphere.

The finger commonly used in pain studies as it's easy to lift for reaction time measurements.

Brainwaves that are generated in response to sensory stimuli, particularly touch. Used to assess the integrity of sensory pathways.

A method used to selectively activate pain afferents (nerve fibers) in the skin, minimizing contamination from touch pathways.

The primary (SI) and secondary (SII) somatosensory cortices play a role in processing pain information.

Techniques like fMRI, showing increased blood flow in SI and SII during pain, support the role of these brain regions in pain processing.

Pain processing occurs in the SI and SII cortices on the opposite side of the body from the pain source.

The sense of knowing your body's position and movement without looking. It involves joint receptors, muscles, and tendons.

The ability to distinguish between two closely spaced points on the skin. It measures how sensitive an area of skin is to touch.

The ability to identify a letter or number drawn on your skin without looking.

The ability to recognize an object by touch alone without seeing it.

Pallaesthesia is the sense of vibration. It is tested by using a tuning fork placed on a bony prominence.

Hypaesthesia is a decrease in sensitivity to touch or other sensory stimuli.

This involves the ability to locate, characterize (sharp, dull, etc.), and quantify the intensity of the pain.

This is the unpleasant emotional response to pain.

The postcentral gyrus in the brain processes sensory information from the body, including pain. Damage to this region can impact pain perception.

Both systems likely cooperate for normal pain experience. The medial system processes the emotional aspect of pain, and the lateral system processes the sensory-discriminative aspect of pain.