Physiological mechanism of pain!?
Can someone help me understand the mechanisms by which pain signals travel from the site of injury to the various parts of the brain. And also the role of the descending pathways that help to mediate pain. And finally the gate theory of pain proposed by Melzack and Wall.
I sort of understand bits and bobs of the physiological mechanisms of pain but I am finding it difficult to put it all together to understand it in logical and coherent manner.
Answers:
Maybe this will help:
Consider that your body is one neurological complex, sort of like a metro underground.
If you take a pain killer, depending on what it is, it will work to block the sendin'/reception of pain impulses, much like a break in the electric line would stop an electric train in its tracks. Now, the key is this: When the train is stopped then the centralized computer system gets a signal it has stopped. If, for instance, you stub your toe, but the pain is stopped due to some substance, such as oxycodone, your brain may not recognize the sensation, but unless totally knocked out, it will recognize that something is amiss at your toe.
I have practiced hypnosis for years. For some people pain can be stopped, for others it can be reduced, or can be converted to some other sensation.
In administering hypnosis to another person, or to one's self, it is always important to add the clause that if the pain is signaling something that can harm or kill, it will get through the block.
I believe that because the brain is not only a reciever of pain signals, but a dynamic thinking machine, it can indeed be trained to block, relocate, or otherwise diminish the sensation of pain. This happens, however, inside the brain, not at the location of the pain itself as would a shot administered before dental work.
I hope this helps.
A last thought. A spider may be hidden, but if something touches its web, it will notice. If you consider your body a spider web of signal paths, and your brain the spider, that may help you conceptualize the whole mechanism as well.
I might add, I have purposely studied spider behavior in the context of lightly touching of the web. Different frequencies of touch evoked different responses from the spider.
I hope this helps.
Yours,
Dr. Charles James, DTM.
Probably, but not here. I suggest you ask on <biology>, I've had good answers to that kind of question there myself.
Sorry but I find questions like this a bit of a pain, and I don't know how or why I feel it..Perhaps it's because it's too difficult to answer?
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I sort of understand bits and bobs of the physiological mechanisms of pain but I am finding it difficult to put it all together to understand it in logical and coherent manner.
Answers:
Maybe this will help:
Consider that your body is one neurological complex, sort of like a metro underground.
If you take a pain killer, depending on what it is, it will work to block the sendin'/reception of pain impulses, much like a break in the electric line would stop an electric train in its tracks. Now, the key is this: When the train is stopped then the centralized computer system gets a signal it has stopped. If, for instance, you stub your toe, but the pain is stopped due to some substance, such as oxycodone, your brain may not recognize the sensation, but unless totally knocked out, it will recognize that something is amiss at your toe.
I have practiced hypnosis for years. For some people pain can be stopped, for others it can be reduced, or can be converted to some other sensation.
In administering hypnosis to another person, or to one's self, it is always important to add the clause that if the pain is signaling something that can harm or kill, it will get through the block.
I believe that because the brain is not only a reciever of pain signals, but a dynamic thinking machine, it can indeed be trained to block, relocate, or otherwise diminish the sensation of pain. This happens, however, inside the brain, not at the location of the pain itself as would a shot administered before dental work.
I hope this helps.
A last thought. A spider may be hidden, but if something touches its web, it will notice. If you consider your body a spider web of signal paths, and your brain the spider, that may help you conceptualize the whole mechanism as well.
I might add, I have purposely studied spider behavior in the context of lightly touching of the web. Different frequencies of touch evoked different responses from the spider.
I hope this helps.
Yours,
Dr. Charles James, DTM.
Probably, but not here. I suggest you ask on <biology>, I've had good answers to that kind of question there myself.
Sorry but I find questions like this a bit of a pain, and I don't know how or why I feel it..Perhaps it's because it's too difficult to answer?
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