Pain cont. from psych notes prior to DSM revision.

I hope everyone is ready to start a new year. I still have information to provide to you from conferences, but today I want to continue with psych notes and then theology, in alternative weeks once again. For anyone new reading my blogs, I write all my notes, which by the way is better for retention, than typing notes. However, I want to keep all my notes somewhere without the clutter of paper. So, as I type my notes, I also place them on line for you to read or discard as you wish. Today I shall continue from my last psych notes, regarding pain. Reporting of pain. There are 3 pain pathways. You have the perception of pain Thalamus, the site of origin where it ends up. The spinal - reticular, governs general arousal. Below that is the Spinal - Thalamic. So you feel pain. Pain is localized and three there is arousal, all at different centres of the brain. Recognizes fear before cognition. Adaptive significance because can get head start at what plan to do. Are there objective ways of evaluating pain? Yes. The prof indicated an example of proposed pain in right shoulder because of accident. Easy way to test if pain is in location subject area is to repeated stimulation at the same site, on other side of body, if person experiences pain - by poking it. Hook up to EEG and stimulate (not applicable to pain disorder). Explicit memory - voluntary wants to memorize and under examiners control. Implicit memory - don’t consciously try to remember. From mental image - can stimulate , retrieve. Somatization Disorder - A. A history of many physical complaints usually before age 30, that occur over a period of several years and result in treatment being sought or significant impairment in social, occupational or other important areas of functioning. B. Must have four pain symptoms: A history of pain (eg. head, abdominal, back, joints, extremities, chest, rectum, during menstruation, during sexual intercourse or during urination. 2. A history of two gastrointestinal symptoms, other than pain (eg. nausea, bloating, vomiting other than during pregnancy, diarrhea, or intolerance of certain foods. 3. one sexual symptom - history of at least one sexual or reproductive symptoms other than pain (eg. sexual indifference, excretion or ejaculation dysfunction, irregular menses, excessive menstruation, bleeding, vomiting throughout pregnancy. 4. At least one pseudoneurological symptom: history of at least one symptom or deficit, suggesting a neurological condition not limited to pain (conversion symptoms such as impaired co-ordination or balance paralysis or localized weakness, difficulty swallowing or lump in throat, aphonia urinary retention, hallucinations, loss or touch or pain sensation double vision, blindness, deafness. C. Either 1 or 2. Next: Conversion Disorder.