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Nociceptors, Action Potentials and Post-Firing Excitability Changes

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Encyclopedia of Pain
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Synonyms

Action Potential in Different Nociceptor Populations; Post-Firing Excitability Changes in Different Nociceptor Populations

Definition

The electrophysiological properties of nociceptive neurones.

primary afferent

Characteristics

This essay will consider the electrical properties of mammalian nociceptive neurones, covering both the action potential itself and the changes in excitability that follow it. Much of the work in this area has been concerned with major differences between nociceptors on the one hand, and non-nociceptive afferent neurones on the other. There has also been a relatively small amount of work showing clear differences within nociceptor subclasses. As well as describing differences in such properties as time course or amplitude, an attempt will be made to look at likely differences in underlying membrane properties, especially in the sub-classes of ion channelpresent. Differences in electrical properties directly affect the ability of nociceptive neurones...

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References

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© 2007 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Lynn, B. (2007). Nociceptors, Action Potentials and Post-Firing Excitability Changes. In: Schmidt, R., Willis, W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Pain. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-29805-2_2786

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-29805-2_2786

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-43957-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-29805-2

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