9990 · 3.3.1
Types and theories of pain flashcards
Revision flashcards for Cambridge 9990 Types and theories of pain (syllabus 3.3.1). Flip, recall, then mark a real past-paper question.
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Acute vs chronic pain?
Acute — short-term warning of tissue damage, resolves with healing. Chronic — persists **≥3–6 months** beyond normal healing, often without ongoing pathology.
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Neuropathic pain?
Pain caused by **nerve damage** — burning, shooting, tingling sensations; often resistant to standard analgesics.
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Gate control theory — who proposed it?
**Melzack & Wall (1965)** — pain signals pass through a 'gate' in the spinal cord modulated by large/small nerve fibres and brain descending pathways.
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What closes the gate?
Activation of **large-diameter fibres** (touch, vibration) and **descending signals** from brain — explains why rubbing an injury reduces pain.
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What opens the gate?
**Small-diameter fibres** (pain signals), anxiety, focus on pain, and lack of competing sensory input.
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Biopsychosocial model of pain?
Pain = **biological** (nerve damage) + **psychological** (catastrophising, anxiety) + **social** (culture, support) — holistic alternative to purely biomedical model.
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Define chronic pain.
Pain that persists beyond the normal healing time (typically >3-6 months), is maladaptive, and is often considered a disease itself. It can lead to significant psychological distress and functional impairment.
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What is the key proposal of the Gate Control Theory?
That a neural 'gate' in the spinal cord's dorsal horns modulates pain signals before they reach the brain. The gate is influenced by nerve fibre activity and descending messages from the brain.
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Name the three components of the biopsychosocial model of pain.
1. Biological (e.g., tissue damage, genetics). 2. Psychological (e.g., thoughts, emotions, beliefs). 3. Social (e.g., culture, social support).
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How do large-diameter and small-diameter nerve fibres affect the 'gate' in Gate Control Theory?
Activity in small-diameter fibres (A-delta, C fibres) carrying pain signals tends to 'open' the gate. Activity in large-diameter fibres (A-beta) carrying non-painful touch/pressure information tends to 'close' the gate.
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What is a major limitation of early biomedical models like Specificity Theory?
They fail to account for the influence of psychological factors (like mood or attention) on pain perception and cannot explain phenomena such as phantom limb pain where no peripheral sensory input exists.