Abstract
Inflamed and injured tissues are characteristically hyperalgesic, i.e. relatively minor stimuli become painful, sometimes very much so. Apart from cases where the injury has directly traumatized nerve trunks, the major process involved in causing hyperalgesia is the sensitization of nociceptive afferents by chemical agents released from inflamed tissues. The increased firing of nociceptors will itself make a major contribution to the hyperalgesia. In addition, the pathologically increased input triggers significant changes in the sensitivity of the centres in the central nervous system that process this input. Chapter 5 by McMahon will concentrate on these central changes; this article will deal with the peripheral effects.
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
Burgess, P.R. and Perl, E.R. (1973). Cutaneous mechanoreceptors and nociceptors. In Iggo, A. (ed.) Handbook of Sensory Physiology, Vol. 2, Somatosensory System, pp. 29–78. ( Berlin: Springer )
Lynn, B. (1983). Cutaneous sensation. In Goldsmith, L.A. (ed.) Biochemistry and Physiology of the Skin, pp. 654–684. ( New York: Oxford University Press )
Mense, S. and Meyer, H. (1985). Different types of slowly-conducting afferent units in cat skeletal muscle and tendon. J. Physiol. , 363, 403–417
Schaible, H.-G. and Schmidt, RF. (1983). Activation of groups III and IV sensory units in medial articular nerve by local mechanical stimulation of knee joint. J. Neurophysiol. , 49, 35–44
Echlin, F. and Propper, N. (1937). ‘Sensitization’ by injury of the cutaneous nerve endings in the frog. J. Physiol. , 88, 388–400
Campbell, J.N. and Meyer, R.A. (1986). Primary afferents and hyperalgesia. In Yaksh, T.L. (ed.) Spinal Afferent Processing, pp. 59–81. ( New York: Plenum )
LaMotte, R.H., Thallhammer, J.G., Torebjork, H.E. and Robinson, C.J. (1982). Peripheral neural mechanisms of cutaneous hyperalgesia following mild injury by heat. J. Neuroscience, 2, 765–778
Meyer, RA. and Campbell, J.N. (1981). Myelinated nociceptive afferents account for the hyperalgesia that follows burn to the hand. Science, 213, 1527–1529
Fitzgerald, M. and Lynn, B. (1977). The sensitization of high threshold mechanoreceptors with myelinated axons by repeated heating. J. Physiol. , 265, 549–560
Reeh, P.W., Bayer, J., Kocher, L. and Handwerker, H.O. (1987). Sensitization of nociceptive cutaneous nerve fibers from the rat’s tail by noxious mechanical stimulation. Exp. Brain Res. , 65, 505–512
Fitzgerald, M. (1979). The spread of sensitization of polymodal nociceptors in the rabbit from nearby injury and by antidromic nerve stimulation. J. Physiol. , 297, 207–210
Kocher, L., Anton, F., Reeh, P.W. and Handwerker, H.O. (1987). The effect of carrageenin-induced inflammation on the sensitivity of unmyelinated skin nociceptors in the rat. Pain, 29, 363–373
Berberich, P., Hoheisel, U. and Mense, S. (1988). Effects of a carrageenan-induced myositis on the discharge properties of group III and IV muscle receptors in the cat. J. Neurophysiol. , 59, 1395–1409
Schaible, H.-G. and Schmidt, RF. (1985). Effects of an experimental arthritis on the sensory properties of fine articular afferent units. J. Neurophysiol. , 54, 1109–1122
Guilbaud, G., Iggo, A. and Tegner, R. (1985). Sensory receptors in ankle joint capsules of normal and arthritic rats. Exp. Brain Res. , 58, 29–40
Lynn, B. (1989). Structure, function and control: Afferent nerve endings in the skin. In Greaves, M.W. and Schuster, S. (eds.) Pharmacology of the Skin. Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology, Vol. 87/1, pp. 175–192. ( Berlin: Springer )
Szolcsanyi, J. (1987). Selective responsiveness of polymodal nociceptors of the rabbit ear to capsaicin, bradykinin and ultra-violet radiation. J. Physiol. , 388, 9–28
Novak, A., Lang, E., Handwerker, H.O. and Reeh, P.W. (1987). Sensitivity of rat cutaneous C-fiber endings to bradykinin and interactions with other stimuli: an in vitro study. Pain, Suppl. 4, R18
Mense, S. (1977). Nervous outflow from skeletal muscle following chemical noxious stimulation. J. Physiol. , 267, 75–88
Kanaka, R., Schaible, H.-G. and Schmidt, RF. (1985). Activation of fine articular afferent units by bradykinin. Brain Res. , 327, 81–90
Torebjork, H.E. and Hallin, R.G. (1974). Identification of afferent C-units in intact human skin nerves. Brain Res. , 67, 387–403
Beck, P.W. and Handwerker, H.O. (1974). Bradykinin and serotonin effects on various types of cutaneous nerve fibres. Pflueger’s Arch. , 347, 209–222
Fock, S. and Mense, S. (1976). Excitatory effects of 5-hydroxytryptamine, histamine and potassium ions on muscular group IV afferent units: a comparison with bradykinin. Brain Res. , 105, 459–469
Herbert, M.K. and Schmidt, R.F. (1987). Effect of serotonin on groups III and IV afferent units from acutely inflamed cat knee joint. Pflueger’s Arch. , 408, Suppl. 1, R66
Martin, H.A., Basbaum, A.I., Goetzl, E.J. and Levine, J.D. (1988). Leukotriene B4 decreases the mechanical and thermal thresholds of C-fiber nociceptors in the hairy skin of the rat. J. Neurophysiol. , 60, 438
Heppelmann, B., Schaible, H.-G. and Schmidt, R.F. (1985). Effects of prostaglandin El and E2 on the mechanosensitivity of group III afferents from normal and inflamed cat knee joints. In Fields. H.L., Dubner, R and Cervero, F. (eds.) Advances in Pain Research and Therapy, pp. 91–101. ( New York: Raven Press )
Khan, A.A., Raja, S.N., Meyer, R.A., Campbell, J.N. and Manning, D.C. (1988). C-fiber nociceptors in monkey are sensitized by bradykinin antagonists. Soc. Neurosci. Abstr. , 14, 912
Perl, ER, Kumazawa, T., Lynn, B. and Kenins, P. (1976). Sensitization of high threshold receptors with unmyelinated (C) afferent fibers. Prog. Brain Res. , 43, 263–276
Cohen, R.H. and Perl, E.R. (1988). Chemical factors in the sensitization of cutaneous nociceptors. Frog. Brain Res. , 74, 201–206
Diehl, B., Hoheisel, U. and Mense, S. (1988). Histological and neurophysiological changes induced by carrageenan in skeletal muscle of cat and rat. Agents Actions, 25, 210–213
Guilbaud, G. and Iggo, A. (1985). The effect of lysine acetylsalicylate on joint capsule mechanoreceptors in rats with polyarthritis. Exp. Brain Res. , 61, 164–168
Barasi, S. and Lynn, B. (1986). Effects of sympathetic stimulation on mechanoreceptive and nociceptive afferent units from the rabbit pinna. Brain Res. , 378, 21–27
Roberts, W.J. and Elardo, S.M. (1985). Sympathetic activation of A-delta nociceptors. Somatosensory Res. , 3, 33–44
Lynn, B. (1988). Neurogenic inflammation. Skin Pharmacol., 1, 217–224
Levine, J.D., Coderre, T.J. and Basbaum, A.I. (1988). The peripheral nervous system and the inflammatory process. In Dubner, R., Gebhart, G.F. and Bond, M.R. (eds.) Proc. 5th World Congress on Pain, pp. 33–43. ( Amsterdam: Elsevier )
Lynn, B. (1984). The detection of injury and tissue damage. In Wall, P.D. and Melzack, R (ed.) Textbook of Pain, pp. 19–33. ( Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone )
Schaible, H.-G. and Schmidt, R.F. (1988). Direct observation of the sensitization of articular afferents during an experimental arthritis. In Dubner, R, Gebhart, G.F. and Bond, M.R. (eds.) Proceedings of the Vth World Congress on Pain, pp. 44–50. ( Amsterdam: Elsevier )
Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1990 Kluwer Academic Publishers
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Lynn, B. (1990). The peripheral modulation of nociceptive input. In: Paterson, J.K., Burn, L. (eds) Back Pain. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2165-8_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2165-8_1
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-010-7472-8
Online ISBN: 978-94-009-2165-8
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive