Nociceptors
Nociceptors - Related Videos
09:40
Teasing Out the Interplay Between Natural Killer Cells and Nociceptor Neurons
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Cited by 3 •
2022
Nociceptor neurons and NK cells actively interact in an inflammatory context. A co-culture approach enables studying this interplay.
02:38
Local Heat Probe Assay: A Method to Assess Nociception of High Temperatures in Drosophila Larvae
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2023
Drosophila larvae have dedicated sensory neurons–nociceptors–whose response to potentially harmful thermal stimuli triggers aversive–or so-called "nocifensive"–behaviors in the animal. This video describes a method to assess thermal nociception by recording larval behavior in response to local application of a heat probe onto the cuticle. This method is, therefore, called the local heat probe assay.
04:39
Induction of Neuropathic Pain in a Rat Model by Constriction of the Infraorbital Nerve
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2025
Source: Deseure, K., et al. Chronic Constriction Injury of the Rat's Infraorbital Nerve (IoN-CCI) to Study Trigeminal Neuropathic Pain. J. Vis. Exp. (2015).This video demonstrates a method to induce neuropathic pain in a rat model by constricting the infraorbital nerve. After exposing the infraorbital nerve and tying ligatures to constrict it, the immune response at the injury site increases the excitability of neighboring neurons, which transmit pain signals to the brain.
02:50
Measuring Pain-Evoked Brain Activity in Neonates Using a Flat-Tip Probe Coupled to EEG
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2025
This video demonstrates a method for measuring pain-evoked brain activity in infants. It outlines the procedure for positioning electrodes on the infant's head and applying pain stimuli to the infant's hand using a flat-tip probe. The video also shows the EEG recording process to identify brain activity in response to the stimuli.
04:42
Generating a Rat Model of Tibial Neuroma Transposition
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2025
Source: Brakkee, E. M., et al. Surgery and Behavioral Testing in the Tibial Neuroma Transposition Model in Rats. J. Vis. Exp. (2023).This video demonstrates a procedure to generate a rat tibial neuroma transposition (TNT) model. After exposing the tibial nerve in the hind leg of an anesthetized rat, transect the nerve. Next, create a subcutaneous tunnel, thread the severed nerve through the tunnel, and suture it in place. In the absence of a target for reinnervation, disorganized axonal...
FAQs
Stimulus-sensitive ion channels in the free nerve endings respond to mechanical stress, temperature changes, or chemicals associated with injury. Their activity changes the electrical state of the sensory neuron. If that change reaches the required threshold, the neuron generates an action potential, converting a local tissue event into a signal that can travel through peripheral nerves.
A threshold determines whether stimulus-related electrical changes become a propagating nerve signal. Signals that reach this level generate action potentials, which travel through peripheral nerves toward the spinal cord and brain. This step links the intensity or presence of potentially damaging stimulation with communication across the nervous system and supports protective responses.
Nociception refers to the processing of signals initiated by potentially damaging stimuli, whereas pain may result when those signals are processed in the brain. The distinction matters because detecting and transmitting a harmful stimulus is not identical to the final sensory experience. Biology research therefore examines both peripheral signaling and how the central nervous system processes it.
Inflammation is an important context for studying changes in nociceptor activity because tissue injury can modify sensory signaling. Examining these changes helps researchers understand why signals associated with damage may contribute to persistent or altered pain responses. This relationship also provides a biological basis for investigating chronic pain and treatments intended to target abnormal sensory signaling.
Signals initiated by nociceptors can contribute to reflexes that limit further injury. These responses connect detection of a potentially damaging stimulus with rapid protective action, while other signals continue toward the spinal cord and brain for processing. Studying this relationship helps explain how sensory neurons participate not only in pain-related signaling but also in immediate biological protection.
Nociceptors provide a biological focus for studying how analgesic treatments influence pain-related sensory signaling. Research also examines what happens when these neurons or their pathways are affected by nerve damage, which may contribute to persistent pain. Together, these applications support efforts to understand chronic pain and develop targeted therapies based on the underlying sensory mechanisms.