Basic Principles of the Gate Control Model of Pain - Essay Example

Basic Principles of the Gate Control Model of Pain Introduction Gate Control theory suggests that the spinal cord has a neurological gate which hinders the pain signals or permits them to go to the brain. They discovered that thin fibre activity allows the transmission cell to fire while the large diameter fiber activity tends to hinder transmission of cell activity. The Gate Control Theory asserts that activation of nerves which do not transmit pain signals can interfere with signals form pain fibers thus hindering pain. It further states that non painful input closes the gate to painful input which prevents further pain sensitization from travelling to the central nervous system. Pinel (2011), argue that there is a neural gate in the spinal cord. They further argue that there is a gate is opened and closed depending on the following factors: The amount of activity inside the pain fibers Messages that descend down the brain. When the pain is intense it stirs more activity in the pain fibers causing the gate to open. Certain behaviors were exhibited while experiencing pain and this provides a yardstick of measuring pain. Traits Some of the observable traits include the following: Facial/audible expression of distress: clenching of teeth, moaning and sighing and being easily irritable. Wolfe et al. (2012), started a quest to understand the relation between electrical signals in the nervous system and perception. He stated that the messages from our sense organs are a series of brief impulses that are very alike, whether the message is meant to arouse the sensation of light, touch or pain. If they are closely crowded the sensation is intense and if separated by long intervals the sensation is correspondingly feeble. Stimuli refer to the outside environment that we are close to and what arouses our receptors. Electrical signals are created by the receptors and sent to the brain. What follows is recognition and action which involves perceiving and reacting to the stimuli. There are however two types of stimuli i.e. that within the environment and the one within the person’s body (Pinel, 2011). Principle of Perception The signal that reaches the nervous system is actually transformed from the original signal although it still represents the original signal. This transformation is achieved through neural processing whereby the original electrical representation of the stimulus that is created by the receptors is transformed by processing into a new representation by the brain stimulus. Sensations are elementary experiences evoked by sensory stimulation such as the sourness of lemon juice; these primitive sensations combine to create perceptions. The principle of perception is based on several principles i.e. the principle of transformation which states that the stimuli and responses created by the stimuli are changed between the stimuli in the environment and the perception. The second principle is the principle of representation which states that not everything that one perceives is pegged only on direct contact with stimuli but on representation of stimuli that are formed on the receptors and on the activity in the person’s nervous system. There are photoreceptors which receive the light line the retina. These photo receptors are only capable of responding to photon frequencies of a narrow range. Pigments in the photoreceptors absorb light energy converting it to neural signals. Conclusions have been drawn between visual input and perception of pain whereby it was discovered that when the subject being stimulated was looking directly at the source of pain, he/she was more inclined to feel more pain and while he diverted his sight elsewhere he felt a decreased feel of pain. The current visual stimulus has a role to play in determining the extent and degree of pain that one actually experience (Pinel, 2011). Contrary to traditional beliefs and misconceptions that pain is entirely caused by the intervention of malicious spirits, it is now perceived to be a neurological sign which entails the visual perception of pain and also an individual’s personal history with pain. Stimulus that activates the nonnoinceptive nerves can actually hinder pain. The Brain and Pain The brain has its own way of controlling pain as it determines which stimuli to overlook. It can be trained to turn off forms of pain. This is done through perception; the brain can actually perceive which stimulus of pain to be ignored so as to achieve worthwhile gains. This discovery led Melzack to say that pain is in the brain as humans have their own way of inducing pain. Pain can be said to a conglomerate of different factors such as sensory, cognitive and perceptive. Messages from the brain can either open or close the brain. Anxiety about the pain may open the gate while distraction or relaxation may close the gate. As the brain perceives pain, it’s possible to measure brain activity so as ascertain the degree of pain that an individual has experienced. Also a person’s view of their pain may also determine the level of arousal that they may experience, whether or not they believe that the treatment will work or how serious they perceive their pain to be. The behaviors that one exhibits serve as an indirect way of communicating their pain and grievances to other people (Wolfe et al. (2012). Pain is beneficial when it alerts where there is possible damage to tissues and initiates responses which alienates the individual from harm. The Nervous system plays the role of detecting, conveying and interpreting pain stimuli. So as to protect the individual from harm, the peripheral nervous system responds to thermal, chemical and mechanical energy providing information about the location and intensity of the stimuli eliciting the pain. Sensory Nerve Fibers Sensory nerve fibers can be broadly categorized into three groups: A beta fibers which are large in diameter and myelinated,they are referred to as low threshold fibers as minimal stimulation is required to generate an impulse and respond to light touch. Delta fibers which are small in diameter and lightly myelinated, they respond to pressure at any intensity, fibers are small fibers which are relatively slower in carrying impulses. In accordance to the gate control model of pain, it can be said that low intensity stimuli that are transmitted by A-beta fibers will influence pain perception by blocking the passage of impulses from C and A delta fibers to transmission cells in the substantial gelatinosa (Goldstein, 2014). The gate control model of pain theory takes into consideration that there are several factors that lead to one experiencing pain. One of the factors that may make one experience pain include: injury to body parts, anxiety or depression and some behavioral factors. Other factors that may lead one to be in a state of no pain include: analgesic remedies, being in a good mood and concentrating on cheerful things other than depressing issues that may make one feel low. The gate control model considers that there are other factors outside the human body that may lead one to experience pain other than those within him. Other factors outside his control have a role to play in causing pain through ones emotions. It has also discovered that there are other interventions such as listening to music and distraction that provide relief from pain. These remedies provide a good mood for the listener and his emotions are lifted up thus pleasure is experienced in place of pain (Mather, 2011). Also thoughts play a role in determining the whether one experience pain or not. Conclusion Nowadays, the attitude to pain and the idea that pain is inevitable has been done away with as it is considered that even patients have a right to no pain (Mather, 2011). One of the best remedies that have been prescribed to any person experiencing pain is distraction. This is whereby the person experiencing pain is made to focus on a non painful stimulus in their immediate environment. This is especially common in hospitals whereby the treatment rooms have been fit with pictures and portraits to draw away the attention of the child from the uncomfortable pain he is experiencing and to allow his mind to wander to other pleasant things. Nurses employ the use of story telling and conversations to distract the attention of children while the doctor is stitching a wound. The child only got to notice of the pain when the doctor made a comment about the operation procedure to the child that he actually felt some degree of pain. Patients can also learn to use imagery by focusing on an image that is has no relation to the pain that he is feeling; this is referred to as non-pain imagery or guided imagery (Goldstein, 2014). The patient is allowed to have a view of somewhere pleasant or a warm relaxing view of the beach or something enjoyable to take him away from the realities of the current condition that he is in. References Goldstein, E.B. (2014). Sensation and Perception. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Mather. (2011).Essentials of Sensation and Perception. Hove: Routledge. Pinel, J. (2011). Biopsychology. Boston: Ally & Bacon Wolfe, J.M. et al. (2012).Sensation & Perception. Sunderland, MA:Sinaeur Associates Read More