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Pain is a distressing feeling often caused by intense or damaging stimuli. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, actual or potential tissue damage." [1]
The gate control theory of pain asserts that non-painful input closes the nerve "gates" to painful input, which prevents pain sensation from traveling to the central nervous system. In the top panel, the nonnociceptive, large-diameter sensory fiber (orange) is more active than the nociceptive small-diameter fiber (blue), therefore the net input ...
The wide dynamic range (WDR) neuron was first discovered by Mendell in 1966. [1] Early studies of this neuron established what is known as the gate control theory of pain. The basic concept is that non-painful stimuli block the pathways for painful stimuli, inhibiting possible painful responses. [2] This theory was supported by the fact that ...
Pain tolerance. Pain tolerance is the maximum level of pain that a person is able to tolerate. Pain tolerance is distinct from pain threshold (the point at which pain begins to be felt). [1] The perception of pain that goes in to pain tolerance has two major components. First is the biological component—the headache or skin prickling that ...
A nociceptor (from Latin nocere 'to harm or hurt'; lit. 'pain receptor') is a sensory neuron that responds to damaging or potentially damaging stimuli by sending "possible threat" signals [1][2][3] to the spinal cord and the brain. The brain creates the sensation of pain to direct attention to the body part, so the threat can be mitigated; this ...
Pain theories. As long as humans have experienced pain, they have given explanations for its existence and sought soothing agents to dull or cease painful sensations. Archaeologists have uncovered clay tablets dating back as far as 5,000 BC which reference the cultivation and use of the opium poppy to bring joy and cease pain.
Chronic pain. Pain lasts longer than the expected period of recovery. Chronic pain or chronic pain syndrome is a type of pain that is also known by other titles such as gradual burning pain, electrical pain, throbbing pain, and nauseating pain. This type of pain is sometimes confused with acute pain [a] and can last from three months to several ...
Pain and pleasure. Some philosophers, such as Jeremy Bentham, Baruch Spinoza, and Descartes, have hypothesized that the feelings of pain (or suffering) and pleasure are part of a continuum. There is strong evidence of biological connections between the neurochemical pathways used for the perception of both pain and pleasure, as well as other ...