NEUR30004 Study Guide - Final Guide: Posterior Grey Column, Nociceptor, Insular Cortex
5 Oct 2020
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Neur30004 workshop: pain and nociceptive systems part 5: the complexities of. Pain explored through the thermal grill illusion to finish with, let"s explore pain circuitry some more by considering the thermal grill illusion. The thermal grill illusion is a sensory illusion originally demonstrated in 1896 by the. The equipment involves an interlaced grill of warm (~40 c) and cool (~20 c) bars. When someone presses a hand against the grill, as shown in the image below, he or she experiences the sensation of burning heat. Of course, there is no tissue damage as the thermal temperatures applied are not in the noxious range. Thus, if the person presses against the cool bars only, they feel pleasant coolness and if they press against the warm bars only they feel pleasant warmth. The thermal grill illusion is remarkable in that fmri studies confirm the activation of pain pathways during the presentation of interlaced warm and cool stimuli.
