Introduction
The Institute of Human Anatomy’s YouTube video, “The Anatomy of Pain,” visually explores the structures involved in pain’s transmission and processing. The video was selected because it provides an excellent illustration of the physical basis for pain. The new knowledge acquired is that there are two facets to every person’s experience of pain, and they work together to make the experience unique (“Institute of Human”, 2021). One is a specific, localized feeling in a section of the body, while the other is a more generalized, unpleasant quality of varied intensity that is typically accompanied by actions meant to alleviate or end the experience.
Discussion
Most directly related to the video was a concept from the unit’s textbook readings on developmental psychology: a complicated matrix of peripheral and visceral neurons, the central nervous system, and the brain serve the perception of pain. While pain is the leading cause of patient visits to the doctor, it defies precise categorization since only the person experiencing it can fully understand and articulate it (Santrock, 2022). Pain is characterized by a combination of a noxious sensory experience and an unpleasant physiochemical and emotional response. Either way, it is meant to alert the person to the impending danger. It is the clinician’s responsibility to both identify and address the origins of the patient’s discomfort.
Conclusion
To explain the link further, various modifying elements within the neural system influence pain transmission. Many factors contribute to pain perception, including chemical modulation, the additive effects of inflammatory byproducts, and the inhibitory impact of large-diameter sensory afferent fibers. Pain is a multifaceted, biopsychosocial experience involving a wide range of neural circuits, neurochemicals, mental operations, and emotional responses (Santrock, 2022). The brain does not only take in pain signals from the body; it actively controls sensory output by descending extensions from the medulla that sway the spinal dorsal horn.
References
Institute of Human Anatomy. (2021). The anatomy of pain [Video]. YouTube. Web.
Santrock, J. W. (2022). A topical approach to life-span development (11th ed.). McGraw-Hill Higher Education.