Abstract
Pain has two aspects. The first is its function as a warning system to ward off immediate threats. It is, in a sense, a necessary evil that serves to warn the organism of injury. But pain has another face, which we term hyperalgesia—the perceptual companion of inflammation, be it from infection, the mundane abrasion, a burn of the skin, or from the causalgia that mysteriously complicates only certain nerve injuries and cripples its victim. Save for the latter condition, where the pain seems to serve no apparent purpose, hyperalgesia seems not to be part of a warning system but instead is a reminder that something is wrong. A remarkable resetting of the threshold for pain occurs: the inflamed skin may become the source of increased pain merely by being lightly touched or gently warmed. The victim arduously protects the hyper-algesic part, which we infer may ultimately promote healing.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Adriaensen, H., Gybels, J., Handwerker, H. O., and Hees, J. V. Response properties of thin myelinated (A-δ) fibers in human skin nerves. J. Neurophysiol. 49:111–122, 1983.
Beck, P. W., and Handwerker, H. O. Bradykinin and serotonin effects on various types of cutaneous nerve fibers. Pflugers Arch. 347:209–222, 1974.
Beck, P. W., Handwerker, H. O., and Zimmerman, M. Nervous outflow from the cat’s foot during noxious radiant heat stimulation. Brain Res. 67:373–386, 1974.
Beitel, R. E., and Dubner, R. Response of unmyelinated (C) polymodal nociceptors to thermal stimuli applied to monkey’s face. J. Neurophysiol. 39:1160–1175, 1976.
Bessou, R. E., and Perl, E. R. Response of cutaneous sensory units with unmyelinated fibers to noxious stimuli. J. Neurophysiol. 32:1025–1042, 1969.
Bini, G., Cruccu, G., Hagbarth, K., Schady, W., and Torebjork, E. Analgesia effect of vibration and cooling on pain induced by intraneural electrical stimulation. Pain 18:239–248, 1984.
Burgess, P. R., and Perl, E. R., Myelinated afferent fibers responding specifically to noxious stimulation of the skin. J. Physiol. 190:541–562, 1967.
Campbell, J. N., and LaMotte, R. H. Latency to detection of first pain. Brain Res. 226:203–208, 1983.
Campbell, J. N., and Meyer, R. A. Sensitization of unmyelinated nociceptive Afferents in monkeys varies with skin type. J. Neurophysiol. 49:98–110, 1983.
Campbell, J. N., Meyer, R. A., and LaMotte, R. H. Sensitization of myelinated nociceptive Afferents that innervate monkey hand. J. Neurophysiol. 42:1669–1679, 1979.
Campbell, J. N., Raja, S. N., and Meyer, R. A. Halothane sensitizes cutaneous nociceptors in monkey. J. Neurophysiol. 52:762–770, 1984.
Capetola, R. J., Rosenthale, M. E., and Dubinsky, B., and McGuire, J. L. Peripheral antial-gesics: A review. J. Clin. Pharmacol. 23:545–556, 1983.
Chapman, L. F., Ramos, A. D., Goodell, H., and Wolf, H. G. Neurohumural features of afferent fibers in man. Arch. Neurol. 4:49–82, 1961.
Croze, S., Duclaux, R., and Kenshalo, D. The thermal sensitivity of the polymodal nociceptors in the monkey. J. Physiol. 263:539–562, 1976.
Darian-Smith, I., Johnson, K. O., LaMotte, C., Shigenaga, Y., Renins, P., and Champness, P. Warm fibers innervating plamar and distal skin of the monkey: Responses to thermal stimuli. J. Neurophysiol. 42:1297–1310, 1979.
Dubner, R., Price, D. D., Beitel, R. E., and Hu, J. W. Peripheral neural correlates of behavior in monkey and human related to sensory-discriminative aspects of pain, in: Pain in the Trigeminal Region (D. J. Anderson and B. Mathews, ed.), Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1977, pp. 57–66.
Fitzgerald, M. The spread of sensitization of polymodal nociceptors in the rabbit from nearby injuries and by antidromic nerve stimulation. J. Physiol. (Lond.) 297:207–216, 1979.
Fitzgerald, M., and Lynn, B. The sensitization of high threshold mechanoreceptors with myelinated axons by repeated heating. J Physiol. (Lond.) 365:549–563, 1977.
Georgopoulos, A. P. Functional properties of primary afferent units probably related to pain mechanisms in primate glabrous skin. J. Neurophysiol. 39:71–83, 1976.
Gybels, J., Handwerker, H. O., and van Hees, J. A comparison between the discharges of human nociceptive nerve fibers and the subject’s ratings of his sensations. J. Physiol. (Lond.) 292:193–206, 1979.
Handwerker, H. O. Pharmacological modulation of the discharge of nociceptive C-fibers, in: Sensory Functions of the Skin in Primates (T. Zotterman, ed.), Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1976, pp. 427–439.
Hardy J. D., Wolff, H. G., and Goodell, H. Experimental evidence on the nature of cutaneous hyperalgesia. J. Clin. Invest. 29:115–140, 1950.
Hardy, J. D., Wolff, H. G., and Goodell, H. Pain Sensation and Reactions, Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore, 1952.
Konietzny, F., and Hensel, H. Warm fiber activity in human skin nerves. Pflugers Arch. 359:265–267, 1975.
Kuehl, F. A., Jr., and Egan, R. W. Prostaglandins, arachidonic acid, and inflammation. Science 210:978–984, 1980.
Kumazawa, T., and Perl, E. R. Primate cutaneous sensory units with unmyelinated (C) afferent fibers. J. Neurophysiol. 40:1325–1338, 1977.
LaMotte, R. H., and Campbell, J. N. Comparison of responses of warm and nociceptive C-fiber Afferents in monkey with human judgments of thermal pain. J. Neurophysiol. 41:509–528, 1978.
LaMotte, R. H., and Mountcastle, V. B. Capacities of humans and monkeys to discriminate between vibratory stimuli of different frequency and amplitude: A correlation between neural events and psychophysical measurements. J. Neurophysiol. 38:539–559, 1975.
LaMotte, R. H., Thalhammer, J. G., Torebjork, H. E., and Robinson, C.J. Peripheral neural mechanisms of cutaneous hyperalgesia following mild injury by heat. J. Neurosci. 2:765–781, 1982.
LaMotte, R. H., Thalhammer, J. G., and Robinson, C. J. Peripheral neural correlates of magnitude of cutaneous pain and hyperalgesia: A comparison of neural events in monkey with sensory judgements in human. J. Neurophysiol. 50:1–26, 1983.
Lands, W. E. M., and Hanel, A. M. Inhibitors and activators of prostaglandin biosynthesis, in: Prostaglandins and Related Substances (C. Pace-Asciak and E. Granstrom, eds.), Elsevier, New York, 1983, pp. 203–223.
Lewis,Lewis, T. Pain, Macmillan, New York, 1942.
Lewis, T., and Pochin, E. E. The double pain response of the human skin to a single stimulus. Clin. Sci. 13:67–76, 1937.
Lindblom, V., and Verrillo, R. T. Sensory functions in chronic neuralgia. J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry 42:422–435, 1979.
Meyer, R. A., and Campbell, J. N. Evidence for two distinct classes of unmyelinated nociceptive Afferents in monkey. Brain Res. 224:149–152, 1981a.
Meyer, R. A., and Campbell, J. N. Peripheral neural coding of pain sensation. Johns Hopkins APL Tech. Dig. 2:167–171, 1981b.
Meyer, R. A., and Campbell, J. N. Myelinated nociceptive Afferents account for the hyperalgesia that follows a burn applied to the hand. Science 213:1527–1529, 1981c.
Meyer, R. A., Walker, R. E., and Mountcastle, V. B. A laser stimulator for the study of cutaneous thermal pain sensation. I.E.E.E. Trans. Biomed. Eng. 23:54–60, 1976.
Mountcastle, V. B., LaMotte, R. H., and Carli, G. Detection thresholds for vibratory stimuli in humans and monkeys: Comparison with threshold events in mechanoreceptive afferent nerve fibers innevcrating the monkey hand. J. Neurophysiol. 35:122–136, 1972.
Raja, S. N. Campbell, J. N., and Meyer, R. A. Evidence for different mechanisms of primary and secondary hyperalgesia following heat injury to the glabrous skin. Brain 107:1179–1188, 1984a.
Raja, S. N., Campbell, J. N., Meyer, R. A., and MacKinnon, S. N. Hyperalgesia following nerve injury is signalled by myelinated fibers. Pain (Suppl. 2):8, 1984b.
Sinclair, D. Mechanisms of Cutaneous Sensation. Oxford University Press, New York, 1981.
Sunderland, S. Nerves and Nerve Injuries, Churchill Livingstone, New York, 1978.
Talbot, W. H., Darian-Smith, I., Kornhuber, H. H., and Mountcastle, V. B. The sense of flutter-vibration: Comparison of the human capacity with response patterns of mechanoreceptive Afferents from the monkey hand. J. Neurophysiol. 31:301–334, 1968.
Thalhammer, J. G., and LaMotte, R. H. Spatial properties of nociceptor: Sensitization following heat injury of the skin. Brain Res. 231:257–265, 1982.
Thalhammer, J. G., and LaMotte, R. H. Heat sensitization of one-half of a cutaneous nociceptor’s receptive field does not alter the sensitivity of the other half, in: Advances in Pain Research and Therapy, Vol. 5 (J. J. Bonica, U. Li Ndblom and A. Iggo, eds.), Raven Press, New York, 1983, pp. 71–75.
Torebjork, H. E., and Hallin, R. G. Perceptual changes accompanying controlled preferential blocking of A and C fiber responses in intact human skin. Exp. Brain Res. 16:321–332, 1973.
Torebjork, H. E., and Hallin, R. G. Responses in human A and C fibers to repeated electrical intradermal stimulation. J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry 37:653–664, 1974.
Torebjork, H. E., and Ochoa, J. Specific sensations evoked by activity in single identified sensory units in man. Acta Physiol. Scand. 110:445–447, 1980.
Woolf, C. J. Evidence for a central-component of post-injury pain hypersensitivity. Nature 306:686–688, 1983.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1986 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Campbell, J.N., Meyer, R.A. (1986). Primary Afferents and Hyperalgesia. In: Yaksh, T.L. (eds) Spinal Afferent Processing. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-4994-5_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-4994-5_3
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-4996-9
Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-4994-5
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive