PSYC 3170 Chapter Notes - Chapter 11: Opiate, Naloxone, Endorphins
20 Sep 2017
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11 november 17: theories of pain, early theories of pain. Specificity theory: the body has a separate sensory system for perceiving pain. This system was thought to contain its own special receptors for detecting pain stimuli. Pattern theory: there is no separate system for perceiving pain, and the receptors for pain are shared with other senses. People feel pain when certain patterns of neural activity occur: the gate control theory of pain. Gate control theory: describes a physiological mechanism by which psychological factors can affect people"s experience of pain. The gating mechanism is located in the spinal cord, more specifically, in the substance gelatinous of the dorsal horns, which are part of the grey matter that runs the length of the core of the spinal cord. After pain fibers pass through the gain mechanism, they activate transmission cells, which send impulses to the brain.
