Fine Afferent Nerve Fibres and Pain - Hardcover

The forty-four articles collected here represent the first in-depth survey of the most recent advances in the investigation of nociception and pain. They show and explain the intricate relationships between fine afferent nerve fibers, their spinal and supraspinal relay stations and the processing and handling of pain-inducing stimuli. The contributors also review in detail the latest conceptual and methodological approaches, among them light and electron microscopy, immunocytochemistry, thermography, and extracellualar and intracellular recording techniques. Other areas of discussion include developmental aspects, occurrence and distribution of fine afferents in various tissue, morphology of the ''pain receptor'' (nociceptor), ''pain pathways'' from the periphery to the cerebral cortex, and model systems to explore the effects of injury and inflammation on the pain system.