Question

Why is it important that we are able to perceive pain? Are there specific pain receptors in the nervous system or could pain be a result of the overstimulation of other somatosensory pathways? Explain.

Answer 1

Yes there are specific receptors to sense the pain. Pain is generally an after effect of damage to our body part. For example, when we prick our finger with something sharp, our finger tissues are damaged. There are microscopic pain receptors, also known as nociceptors, which gets activated. These pain receptors forms one end of a nerve cell (neurone) which are connected to the other end in the spinal cord by a long nerve fibre or axon. When activated, it sends an electrical signal up the nerve fibre. Numerous nerve fibre bundles up to form a pheripheral nerve. The electrical signals formed finally reaches spinal cord in the neck. In the dorsal horn, the signalas are transmitted from one neurone to another across synapses by means of chemical messengers, known as neurotransmitters. In the last, these signals are passed to the brain.