Distraction Or Nociception

Pain is physical suffering or discomfort caused by illness or an injury. Distraction is something that prevents someone from giving full attention to something else. “Virtual reality produces a modulating effect that is endogenous, so the analgesic influence is not simply a result of distraction but may also impact how the brain responds to painful stimuli,”(Jeffery I. Gold). A stimulus is defined as something that causes activity or reaction in a person or thing. Studies that examine the benefit of video game pain management have showed experimental pain stimuli, such as thermal pain and cold pressure tests, to turn pain responses off and on as subjects play video games.
“Pain perception, or nociception, is the process by which a painful
stimulus is relayed from the site of stimulation to the central nervous system,” (Craig Freudenrich). In the nociception process, there are multiple steps. First, contact with stimulus happens. Stimuli can be mechanical or chemical. Second, reception occurs. Stimuli are sensed by a nerve ending. Reception is the action or process of receiving something sent, given, or caused. Third, transmission takes place. The central nervous system is sent a signal by a nerve. Usually, there are several neurons with in the central nervous system while receiving information. Last, pain center reception happens. Information is accepted by the brain to determine additional actions and steps.
Your brain recognizes there is pain when electrical cautionary indications are directed from the point of injury or disease all the way to your brain.
The electrical indications begin when unique receptor cells, on the ends of peripheral nerve fibers, know that injury or damage is taking place. The peripheral nervous system is the portion of the nervous system that contains the nerves and ganglia outside of the brain and spinal cord. These receptor cells give out their cautionary indications along the peripheral nerve fibers, which then transmit the signal to the dorsal horn of the spinal cord, which is the main highway for transmitting signals to the brain. A dorsal horn is “a longitudinal subdivision of gray matter in the dorsal part of each lateral half of the spinal cord that receives terminals from some afferent fibers if the dorsal roots of the spinal nerves,” (Merriam-Webster Medical Dictionary). When in the brain, the pain the indicator is directed out to your brain’s physical sensation center, emotional center, and thinking center, so you can react and choose what to do about the pain. The physical sensation center, or somatosensory cortex, is a part of the brain that handles the input from the numerous systems in the body that are sensitive to touch. The emotional center, or limbic system, is a compound system of nerves and networks in the brain, containing multiple parts near the edge of the cortex concerned with character and mood. The thinking center,
or frontal cortex, is positioned at the front of the brain, is one of the four main sections of the cerebral cortex in the mammalian brain.
Not all of the pain indicators even reach the brain.
There are unique gatekeeper cells in the spinal cord that can reduce or even block out the pain. Your spinal cord is the cylinder-shaped bunch of nerve fibers and connected tissue that is surrounded in the spine. It connects nearly all parts of the body to your brain. This makes your central nervous system. For example, when you bang your elbow and you rub it. The signals by rubbing the hurt area affect the gatekeeper cells. They turn down the strength of the pain. Also, the gatekeeper cells can be affected by your brain. Your brain can make these unique chemicals called endorphins and enkephalins, which make the gatekeeper cells, turn down the pain. Endorphins are a group of hormones that are released in the brain and nervous system that can reduce pain and make you happier. Enkephalins are peptides in your brain that are like
painkillers.
The way you feel pain is very complex that is affected by your many factors. For example, if you are in pain while you are not doing anything, you notice and feel the pain more, but if you have an injury while focused on something, you are less likely to feel the pain as much. Pain medications called analgesics are giver to relieve pain by doctors. There are many different types of pain relief according on your type of pain. For example ice packs, hot baths, a massage, acupuncture, yoga breathing techniques, meditation, mental imagery, or even distraction. People with burn injuries have been getting told by doctors to play videos games to distract their minds from the pain.