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Neuro 3 > Lecture 17: Pain and the Brain > Flashcards

Lecture 17: Pain and the Brain Flashcards

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1
Q

What is the point of the brain?

A

How we navigate a very dangerous world (environment) to survive

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2
Q

What is a basic overview of what is happening in the brain?

A
  1. The brain takes a snapshot of the environment
  2. This is received by 1º and 2º cortical regions
  3. They decide whether we should pay attention to the stimuli
  4. They activate the sympathetic nervous system and the frontal cortex determines a response
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3
Q

What parts of the brain determine if we should pay attention to a stimuli and if the stimuli matters?

A

The insula, cingulate and limbic system

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4
Q

What parts of the brain determines if we should pay attention or focus on a stimuli?

A

The insula and cingulate

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5
Q

What system determines emotional appraisal of a stimuli?

A

The limbic system

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6
Q

Generally what do the insula and cingulate do?

A

Determine if we should pay attention and focus on a stimuli

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7
Q

Generally what does the limbic system do?

A

Assigns emotional appraisal to a stimuli. Ask the question, does it matter?

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8
Q

Where is information from an environmental snapshot organized into an interpretable form?

A

Secondary cortical regions

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9
Q

What do secondary cortical regions do?

A

Organizes information from an environmental snapshot into an organized interpretable form

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10
Q

Where is the insula located?

A

On the lateral surface of the frontal lobe

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11
Q

What sits on the lateral surface of the frontal lobe?

A

The insula

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12
Q

What is the formal definition of the insula?

A

The Insula inter-relates our understanding and perception of self with our perception of the environment

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13
Q

What part of the brain inter-relates our understanding and perception of self with our perception of the environment?

A

The Insula

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14
Q

What is the casual definition of the insula?

A

The insula is involved in determining or understanding how we fit into the world around us

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15
Q

What are the three parts of the inusla?

A
  • Posterior
  • Middle
  • Anterior
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16
Q

What the function of the posterior insula?

A

Identification/perception of stimulus (do we feel something)

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17
Q

What part of the insula is responsible for identification/perception of stimulus?

A

The posterior insula

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18
Q

In what situation would the posterior insula be activated?

A

Someone touches your hand and you feel something touching your hand

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19
Q

What is the function of the middle insula?

A

Ownership/relation of stimulus (is that related to us?)

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20
Q

What part of the insula is responsible for ownership/relation of a stimulus?

A

The middle insula

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21
Q

In what situation would the middle insula be activated?

A

If you touch your own hand, if you see yourself in the mirror, etc

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22
Q

What is the function of the Anterior Insula?

A

Redirecting attention or conscious awareness - filters out stimuli to see which ones we should be paying attention to

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23
Q

Which part of the insula redirects attention or conscious awareness - filters out stimuli to see which ones we should be paying attention to?

A

The anterior insula

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24
Q

In what direction does the insula work?

A

Anteriorly to posteriorly

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25
What are some characteristics of the insula?
Somatotopic organization Sided-asymmetry Ipsilateral-contralateral activation
26
What is meant by somatotopic organization of the insula?
Certain parts of the insula will activate in connection with certain parts of the body wall
27
What is meant by sided-asymmetry, ipsilateral-contralateral activation of the insula?
The right hand will activate the left insula and the left hand will be represented on the right side
28
Which side of the insula is implicated in pain?
The right side
29
What is the insula jointly activated with?
The anterior cingulate
30
What is the anterior cingulate jointly activated with?
The insula
31
What network is the posterior cingulate apart of?
The default mode network (DMN)
32
What is a brain network?
A brain network consisting of multiple brain structures that are activated at the same time or during the same situations
33
What is the Default Mode Network (DMN)?
A network of interacting brain regions that is active when a person is not focused on the outside world and helps us to find something to pay attention to
34
What is the key hub in the Default Mode Network?
The posterior cingulate
35
What is the Default Mode Network active?
When the mind is wandering or focused on something internally
36
When is the Default Mode Network inactive?
When we are focussed on the outside world
37
Aside from the DMN what can the posterior cingulate be connected to?
Links hippocampal function to high-level cortex and the limbic system
38
What does the connection of the posterior cingulate to the hippocampus do?
In integrates emotion with environment
39
Why are we unable to focus when we are emotional?
Because the posterior cingulate is connected to the hippocampus and other limbic system structures which process emotion
40
Which part of the cingulate is most involved in pain?
The anterior cingulate
41
What is the anterior cingulate involved in?
Pain
42
What is the difference between structural and functional segregation?
Structural: the real estate and where they are located Functional: when they are active
43
What are the parts of the anterior cingulate?
- Sub-genu anterior cingulate (sgACC) - Pre-genu ACC (pgACC) - Anterior middle cingulate (aMCC) - Posterior middle cingulate (pMCC)
44
What can the functional segregation of the anterior/middle cingulate be divided into?
Negative affect Pain Cognitive control
45
What is the anterior middle cingulate aMCC involved in?
Pain, negative affect and cognitive control
46
What is negative affect?
Experiences of negative emotion
47
Which part of the cingulate is involved in pain, negative affect and cognitive control?
The Anterior middle cingulate
48
What are the characteristics of the anterior middle cingulate?
Somatotropic organization Sided-asymmetry Ipsilateral-contalateral activation
49
What is meant by somatotopic organization of the anterior middle cingulate?
Certain regions of the body wall are represented in different areas of the cingulate
50
What is meant by sided-asymmetry of the anterior middle cingulate?
The right hand will activate the left cingulate
51
Which side of the anterior middle cingulate is more active in pain?
The right side
52
What are the six structures of the limbic system?
Hippocampal formation Amygdala Hypothalamus Cingulate gyrus Thalamus Limbic associated cortices
53
What is the hippocampal formation composed of?
The hippocampus, fornix, dentate gyrus
54
What is the hippocampus an important component of?
The limbic system
55
What is the most important structure of the limbic system?
The hippocampus
56
What is the hippocampus important for?
Learning and memory and retrieval of old memories
57
What is important for learning and memory and retrieval of old memories?
The hippocampus
58
What is the amygdala important for?
- Very quick object recognition - Secondary fear or anxiety response
59
What is important for object recognition and secondary fear and anxiety response?
The Amygdala
60
What is the cingulate gyrus important for?
Cognition and pain
61
What is the function of the thalamus?
Sensory relay station
62
What is the sensory relay station of the brain?
The thalamus
63
What are the limbic associated cortices?
Other brain areas that are grouped in when the limbic system is active and helps the limbic system understand what is going on
64
What are the functions of the limbic system?
Emotion and memory Behaviour Motivation Learning/memory
65
What is the function of the limbic system?
- Provides emotional-appraisal of our current position in time and space - So how does this snapshot in time relate to us in an emotional context
66
How are the size of the hippocampus and pain related?
People with larger hippocampi estimate their previous pain to be higher than what it was
67
How is the limbic system involved in perceived pain?
The limbic system is active in perceived pain even when there is nothing happening to a person
68
What is seen in the chronification of pain?
- acute pain patients has a large overlap with the pain network but not the emotional region - chronic pain patients had a lot of overlap with the emotional regions and very little overlap with the pain regions
69
If fixing pain doesn't work what may be other methods?
Target attention and focus in higher brain regions

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