Name: pain signaling and inflammation
Uploaded: 2025-10-23T11:49:14.000Z
Duration: 1 min 44 s
Channel: JoVE

- [Narrador] La nocicepción,
generalmente llamada dolor,

es el proceso por el
que un estímulo tóxico

se transmite a través del sistema nervioso

periférico y central

para advertir sobre un daño
potencial o una herida.

Cuando se detecta una señal de daño,

se activan los nocireceptores

y las terminaciones nerviosas libres.

Los mastocitos cercanos liberan químicos,

como histaminas,

mientras que los macrófagos
secretan citoquinas,

pequeñas proteínas que
son factores críticos

en las señales inmunológicas.

Al mismo tiempo, los axones
de los nocireceptores

transmiten la señal al cuerno dorsal

de la columna vertebral,

principalmente a través
de dos fibras del dolor.

Las primeras en activarse

son las fibras A-delta
ligeramente mielinizadas,

que conducen el dolor
inmediato y bien localizado

a una gran velocidad

para permitir que el cuerpo se retire

del estímulo doloroso.

El otro tipo de axones es las fibras C,

que transmiten lentamente
ya que no están mielinizadas

y transmiten dolor
prolongado por quemadura.

Desde la columna vertebral,
las señales de dolor

cruzan y viajan al tallo del cerebro

y luego al tálamo y a la
corteza somatosensorial

donde se interpretan las señales de dolor

para determinar la ubicación de la herida.

Otras regiones del
cerebro procesan el dolor,

estructuras cortico límbicas notorias,

incluidas la amígdala y
la corteza prefrontal que

se relacionan a los recuerdos
emocionales y la cognición.

Por último, las interacciones múltiples

dentro del cerebro contribuyen

a la percepción subjetiva

que experimentan los individuos.

San Juan Smith, Ewan. "Avances en la comprensión de la nocicepción y el dolor neuropático". Revista de Neurología 265, no. 2 (2018): 231–38. [<a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-017-8641-6" target="__blank">Fuente</a>]

Pinho-Ribeiro, Felipe A., Waldiceu A. Verri e Isaac M. Chiu. "Interacciones entre neuronas sensoriales e inmunitarias nociceptores en el dolor y la inflamación". Trends in Immunology 38, no. 1 (enero de 2017): 5–19. [<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.it.2016.10.001" target="__blank">Fuente</a>]

nocicepción

Nociception

La nocicepción,la capacidad de sentir dolor, es esencial para la supervivencia y el bienestar general de un organismo. Los estímulos nocivos, como el dolor punzante provocado por un objeto punzante, el calor de una llama abierta o el contacto con sustancias químicas corrosivas, son detectados primero por receptores sensoriales, llamados nociceptores, ubicados en las terminaciones nerviosas. Los nociceptores expresan canales iónicos que convierten los estímulos nocivos en señales eléctricas. Cuando estas señales llegan al cerebro a través de las neuronas sensoriales, se perciben como dolor. Así, el dolor ayuda al organismo a evitar estímulos nocivos.

El sistema inmunológico juega un papel esencial en la patología del dolor. Al encontrar estímulos nocivos, las células inmunes como los mastocitos y los macrófagos presentes en el sitio de la lesión liberan sustancias químicas inflamatorias como citocinas, quimiocinas, histaminas y prostaglandinas. Estas sustancias químicas atraen otras células inmunitarias, como monocitos y células T, al lugar de la lesión. También estimulan los nociceptores, lo que produce hiperalgesia,una respuesta más intensa a un estímulo previamente doloroso o alodinia,una respuesta dolorosa a un estímulo normalmente inocuo, como un toque ligero. Esta sensibilización al dolor ayuda a proteger el sitio lesionado durante la curación.

En algunos casos, el dolor sobrevive a su función como sistema de alerta aguda si la sensibilización no se resuelve con el tiempo. El dolor crónico,dolor persistente o recurrente que dura más de tres meses, a menudo acompaña a afecciones inflamatorias como la artritis reumatoide. Los medicamentos antiinflamatorios no esteroides (AINE), como la aspirina y el ibuprofeno, reducen el dolor al inhibir la síntesis de las moléculas inflamatorias prostaglandinas. Sin embargo, los AINE y los opioides que se utilizan actualmente para combatir el dolor sufren efectos secundarios graves y potencial de adicción. Por lo tanto, comprender los mecanismos subyacentes a la patología del dolor puede ayudar a desarrollar fármacos más eficaces para suprimir la percepción del dolor con efectos secundarios negativos menos graves.

Nocicepción

La nocicepción, la capacidad de sentir dolor, es esencial para la supervivencia y el bienestar general de un organismo. Estímulos nocivos como perforaciones ...

Education

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Biology

Biología

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Biología Humana

Musculoskeletal System

Sistema musculoesquelético

KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS

TÉRMINOS Y CONCEPTOS CLAVE

pain signaling and inflammation

Pain signaling begins when the body detects a harmful stimulus. Sharp objects, open flames, and corrosive chemicals can trigger this response. Sensory receptors called nociceptors, which sit on nerve endings, detect these noxious stimuli and use ion channels to turn them into electrical signals.

Those electrical signals travel through sensory neurons to the brain, where they are experienced as pain. This warning system helps an organism avoid damage and stay safe. Pain is therefore an important part of survival and overall well-being.

The immune system also shapes pain after an injury. Mast cells and macrophages at the injury site release inflammatory chemicals such as cytokines, chemokines, histamines, and prostaglandins. These signals attract more immune cells, including monocytes and T cells, and they also stimulate nociceptors.

This immune response can increase pain sensitivity. Hyperalgesia is a stronger response to a stimulus that was already painful. Allodynia is pain caused by something that is usually not painful, such as light touch. These changes help protect the injured area during healing.

Pain can become a problem when sensitization does not fade. Chronic pain is persistent or recurring pain that lasts longer than three months. It often occurs with inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. NSAIDs, including aspirin and ibuprofen, reduce pain by blocking the production of prostaglandins. However, NSAIDs and opioids can cause serious side effects and may lead to addiction, so researchers continue to study pain mechanisms to find safer drugs.

Pain Signaling and Inflammation

what is the skeletal system?

Human Skeleton: Bones, Cells, and Disease

The human skeleton is a living framework made of 206 bones in adults. Bones connect with cartilage, tendons, and ligaments. This system gives the body support, protects organs, and helps with movement and locomotion. The skeleton has two main parts: the axial skeleton and the appendicular skeleton. The axial skeleton has 80 bones and includes the skull, the vertebral column, and the rib cage. The cranium, or upper skull, has eight bones that enclose the brain, while the lower part of the skull...

bone structure

Inside a Long Bone

Inside a long bone, osseous tissue is organized into two main types: cortical bone and cancellous bone. A femur is a clear example of this structure. The bone also includes outer coverings and inner spaces that support growth, repair, and blood cell production. Cortical bone, also called compact bone, forms the dense outer layer along the diaphysis, or shaft. It is covered by the periosteum, a membrane with connective tissue, capillaries, and nerves. Beneath the cortical layer is the medullary...

joints

Types of Joints in the Human Body

Joints are the places where adjacent bones connect. They are also called articulations or articular surfaces. Joints help the body move and stay stable. Joints can be classified by structure or by function. Structural classification depends on the material that forms the joint and whether there is a space between the bones. By structure, joints are fibrous, cartilaginous, or synovial. Fibrous joints are connected by fibrous tissue and have no cavity between the bones. Because of this, they do...

bone remodeling

How Hormones Control Bone Turnover

Bone turnover is a continuous process in which old bone is broken down and new bone is built. Osteoclasts carry out bone resorption, and osteoblasts carry out bone formation. In adults, this balanced cycle helps maintain bone mass and calcium homeostasis. Mechanical stress can also stimulate turnover as part of normal maintenance and repair. Parathyroid hormone, or PTH, helps control blood calcium levels by increasing bone resorption when calcium is low. It is released from the parathyroid...

skeletal muscle anatomy

Muscle Fibers, Tendons, and Contraction

Skeletal muscle moves the body by pulling on bones through tendons. Tendons are the connective tissue that attaches skeletal muscle to bones. When skeletal muscles contract, they create voluntary movement. Skeletal muscle is wrapped in layers of connective tissue. The outer layer is the epimysium, which helps protect the muscle. Beneath it, the perimysium surrounds and groups fasciculi, which are bundles of skeletal muscle cells called myocytes. These cells are also called skeletal muscle...

classification of skeletal muscle fibers

Skeletal Muscle Fiber Speed and Energy

Skeletal muscle fibers can be grouped by how fast they contract and how they make ATP, the energy cells use for movement. These differences also shape their physical features. Most human muscles contain all three fiber types, but in different amounts. Slow oxidative fibers, also called slow-twitch fibers, appear red because they have many capillaries and high levels of myoglobin, an oxygen-storing protein. They also contain more mitochondria, which make ATP through oxidative phosphorylation,...

muscle contraction

Nerve Signals That Trigger Muscle Contraction

Nerve signals trigger muscle contraction in both skeletal and smooth muscle, but the two muscle types use different control systems. In skeletal muscle, the signal begins at the motor end plate, which is the synapse between a motor neuron and a muscle fiber. In smooth muscle, contraction is controlled by the autonomic nervous system and happens without conscious control. In skeletal muscle, motor nerve terminals release acetylcholine. This neurotransmitter binds to receptors on the sarcolemma,...

cross-bridge cycle

Calcium Control in Muscle Contraction

Calcium control in muscle contraction depends on ATP, motor neurons, and the sliding action of actin and myosin. As a muscle contracts, the thin and thick filaments overlap more, and the sarcomere, which is the contractile unit of the muscle, becomes shorter. This process uses energy from ATP and happens in a repeating cycle at the molecular level. Myosin drives the movement of actin through a cross-bridge cycle. When ATP attached to the myosin head is hydrolyzed to ADP, myosin shifts into a...

motor units

How Motor Units Control Muscle Movement

Motor units control skeletal muscle movement. A motor unit includes one efferent motor neuron, which carries signals away from the central nervous system, and all of the muscle fibers it innervates. A single motor neuron can connect with multiple muscle fibers, but each muscle fiber is innervated by only one motor neuron. Lower motor neurons are the efferent neurons that control skeletal muscle, the most abundant type of muscle in the body. Their cell bodies are found in the spinal cord or...

the spinal cord

Spinal Cord Structure and Dermatomes

The spinal cord is the main nerve pathway of the central nervous system. It carries sensory signals from the body to the brain and motor signals from the brain to the body. It begins at the foramen magnum, the opening at the base of the skull, and extends to the level of the first or second lumbar vertebra. In cross-section, the spinal cord is cylindrical and contains both gray matter and white matter. The central canal lies in the middle and is a remnant of the lumen of the primitive neural...

nociception

Pain signaling begins when the body detects a harmful stimulus. Sharp objects, open flames, and corrosive chemicals can trigger this response. Sensory receptors called nociceptors, which sit on nerve endings, detect these noxious stimuli and use ion channels to turn them into electrical signals. Those electrical signals travel through sensory neurons to the brain, where they are experienced as pain. This warning system helps an organism avoid damage and stay safe. Pain is therefore an...

key terms and concepts

Learn how nociceptors detect harmful stimuli, how inflammation boosts pain sensitivity, and why chronic pain can persist after injury.

Pain Signaling and Inflammation | JoVE K12

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Pain Signaling and Inflammation

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