Theoires Of Pain Flashcards
(17 cards)
2 theory’s
Specificity theory
Gate control theory
Explain the specificity theory
This suggests that we have a sensory system which is specifically dedicated to pain like how we have one for heat and how there are dedicated receptor cells which are only activated when they detect specific stimulus
What happens after receptors detect pain in specifity theory’s
They send messages or signals, through a dedicated pathway to a specific pain center in the brain
What does the specifity theory say about the strength of pain
That the more the pathway us used to stronger the pain
Is the specificity theory reductionist or holistic
It’s a reductionist approach as it is purely biological
Why do we not feel pain suggested the specificity
Specialist pain receptors respond to stimuli via vineyard pi send signs to the brain. The brain identifies it as pain and tries to quickly stop it
What are strengths of the specific theory?
It led to the development of other, very detailed theories of pain although it is large to be discredited today it’s for the basis of research for many years. It makes this theory useful.
Gate control theory
Propose that the spinal cord is a gate that either prevents pain signals from entering the brain or allows them to continue
Does the gate control theory contain the emotional state
Yes it does
Who establish the gate control theory
Melzack and wall 1965
What did melzack propose
That the spinal cord is a gate that either prevents or allows pain to enter the brain
Gating mechanisum
Occours when the dorsal horn of the spinal cord where both nerve fibers carry info to large fibers cause more pain
Melzack and wall 1965 proposed a theory based on what
The action of T cells
What are T cells
Tranmission
cells
What is the process of the gating mechanism
First small slow fibers carry the pain stimulation to the dorsal horn of the spinal cord
They pass through a gating mechanism which then activates the T cells which transmit the pain signal impulses through the spinal cord to the brain
When do we feel critical pain
When output of T cells reach a critical level we feel pain the more past the critical the more we feel pain
If the gate is open t cells can transmit freely but if closed they are inhibited
Factors affecting if the gate is open
How much activity there is in the slow pain fibers, the more activity there is the wider the gate opens
How much activity there is in the others peripheral fibers
Messages that come from the Brain to the spinal cord
