Where is pain processed in the brain

Sometimes, however, your body heals, but your brain continues to perceive the pain. Genetics, physiological mechanisms and even psychological factors may be involved in the transformation of acute to chronic pain. Trying to determine exactly how acute pain becomes chronic is one of the major challenges for researchers studying pain.

There is also a distinction between somatic, visceral and neuropathic pain. Somatic pain originates in the skin or musculoskeletal tissue and may be described as sharp, aching, throbbing, or gnawing, whereas visceral pain originates from an internal organ, e.

In sudden strong pain like that generated by pricking your finger, a reflex response occurs within the spinal cord. Motor neurones are activated and the muscles of your arm contract, moving your hand away from the sharp object. This occurs in a fraction of a second — before the signal has been relayed on to the brain — so you will have pulled your arm away before even becoming conscious of the pain.

Sharp, pricking pain is carried by A-delta fibres while dull throbbing pain travels via C fibres. A-delta fibres conduct signals faster than C fibres as they are larger and are coated in myelin, which acts an electrical insulator.

There are several points in the pain pathway where the signal can be modified. One is the dorsal horn of the spinal cord. This is the basis of the gate control theory of pain described below. When we feel pain, such as when we touch a hot stove, sensory receptors in our skin send a message via nerve fibres A-delta fibres and C fibres to the spinal cord and brainstem and then onto the brain where the sensation of pain is registered, the information is processed and the pain is perceived.

The gate theory says that as these pain messages come into the spinal cord and the central nervous system before they even get to the brain , they can be amplified, turned down or even blocked out.

This has to do with the brain being busy doing other things and shutting the gate until it can pay attention to the messages. Large diameter nerve fibres A-beta fibres responsible for transmitting signals of touch to the brain have the ability to close the pain gate and so block signals from other smaller diameter nerve fibres which transmit pain.

An example of this would be when a child falls over and hurts her knee — if she rubs her knee, the signal from that sensation of touch temporarily blocks the pain signal travelling from the injured knee to the brain.

What affects your experience of pain? Severe pain quickly gets your attention and usually produces a stronger physical response than mild pain. The location of your pain can also affect how you perceive it. For example, pain coming from the head is harder to ignore than pain originating elsewhere in the body. The location of pain in your body does not always indicate where it is coming from. For example, the pain from a heart attack can be felt in the neck, jaws, arms or abdomen.

This is known as referred pain and occurs because signals from different parts of the body often converge on the same neurones in the spinal cord.

The gate control theory helps explain how the brain influences your experience of pain. It seems that several factors can affect how you interpret pain:. This is the type of pain illustrated in the first diagram. Nociceptive pain is caused by any injury to body tissues, for example, a cut, burn or fracture broken bone. Postoperative pain and cancer pain are other forms of nociceptive pain. This type of pain can be aching, sharp or throbbing.

Nociceptive pain can be constant or intermittent and may be worsened by movement or by coughing, depending on the area it originates from. This is caused by abnormalities in the system that carries and interprets pain — the problem may be in the nerves, spinal cord or brain. Neuropathic pain is felt as a burning, tingling, shooting or electric sensation.

This can be caused by a disease or condition that continuously causes damage. With arthritis , for example, the joint is in a constant state of disrepair, causing pain signals to travel to the brain with little downtime.

Sometimes, even in the absence of tissue damage, nociceptors continue to fire. There may no longer be a physical cause of pain, but the pain response is the same.

This makes chronic pain difficult to pin down and even more difficult to treat. Sign up for our Health Tip of the Day newsletter, and receive daily tips that will help you live your healthiest life. Garland EL. Pain processing in the human nervous system: a selective review of nociceptive and biobehavioral pathways. Prim Care. The link between depression and chronic pain: Neural mechanisms in the brain.

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We and our partners process data to: Actively scan device characteristics for identification. I Accept Show Purposes. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Sign Up. What are your concerns? Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. No single brain area is responsible for pain and itch perception. Emotional and sensory components create a mosaic of activity influencing how we perceive pain.

Some successful treatments target the emotional component like meditation, hypnosis, cognitive behavioral therapy, and the controlled use of cannabis. There is more to learn about how the brain and body detect and process touch and pain. The story so far shows the complexity and importance of the somatosensory system. This article was adapted from the 8 th edition of Brain Facts by Marissa Fessenden. Sandra Blumenrath Sandra H. Sandra lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, with her husband, daughter, and a tank full of fish.

Garibyan, L. Understanding the pathophysiology of itch. Dermatologic Therapy , 26 2 , 84— Ask a neuroscientist your questions about the brain. Submit a Question. See how discoveries in the lab have improved human health. Read More. For Educators Log in. Brain Primer.