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Pain Processing Pathway Models

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Encyclopedia of Computational Neuroscience

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Definition

The main pathways involved in pain processing have been known for some time, but the precise microcircuitry remains surprisingly unclear. This has allowed very different theories of pain processing to persist. Specificity theory holds that pain is qualitatively distinct from other somatosensory percepts and that the underlying circuitry is arranged as labeled lines. Gate control theory holds that all inputs converge and that it is the level of activation in unspecialized neurons that code for pain. The truth lies somewhere in between. The dorsal horn of the spinal cord, which corresponds to the first synaptic relay point, comprises a diverse set of interneurons whose connectivity is only partially worked out. This lack of data has hindered network-level modeling, but this also presents an opportunity for modeling to help guide future experiments.

Detailed Description

Types of Pain

Pain is usually caused by noxious stimulation – stimulation that has the potential to cause...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neurosciences and Mental Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Dr. Steven A. Prescott (Faculty of Medicine)

  2. Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Dr. Steven A. Prescott (Faculty of Medicine)

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  1. Dr. Steven A. Prescott
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Correspondence to Steven A. Prescott .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Atlanta, Georgia, USA

    Dieter Jaeger

  2. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, USA

    Ranu Jung

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© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Prescott, S. (2014). Pain Processing Pathway Models. In: Jaeger, D., Jung, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Computational Neuroscience. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7320-6_250-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7320-6_250-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-7320-6

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